A face-off game with 4 nations that started with three fights in nine seconds produced some of the best hockey that have been exhibited recently. The result: a 3-1 victory for the United States via Canada, very much on the dismay of the majority of fans in Montreal's Bell Center on Saturday evening.
The victory gives the team six points and wins a place in the championship game this Thursday. Each of the other teams has two points so that the matchups determine on Monday who the Americans stand against the title:
4 nations.
| team | W-OTW-OTL-L-L | Dot | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2-0-0-0 | 6 | ||
| 0-1-0-1 | 2 | ||
| 0-1-0-1 | 2 | ||
| 0-0-2-0 | 2 |
Here are grades for the USA and Canada, our biggest snack bars, important players in the next game and continuing questions.
Evaluation of the teams
United States: A
Team USA's opening victory against Finland on Thursday was the kind of emphatic, reliable victory that the Americans needed before they stood their arch -rivals. But it was also important for the Proof of Concept about this squad. It established two goal lines that were anchored by Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel. It was shown that star players in their NHL teams could adapt to role players in the national team – players like Dylan Larkin who scored a critical goal against Canada. It was a victory that showed the Americans as balanced and under control over their emotions.
Selection of the publisher
2 related
Everything they exhibited in this matchup with Finland informed these efforts against Canada on Saturday and underlined through a strong performance by Connor Hellebuyck in the goal. It was a victory in the most hostile environments for the Americans, a total team effort in a cyclone of emotions.
The Canadians will notice the lack of Cale Makar due to illness and that the importance of the game after Sweden's loss of overtime against Finland was reduced. The Americans – of course quinn Hughes are missing for the entire tournament due to injuries – will surely take this under advice if you travel home to celebrate an epic victory and get a place in the championship game on Thursday in Boston and Canada ended 17-game winner “best-am best” tournament, via ESPN research. – Greg Wyshynski
Canada: B-
Perhaps it could be considered unfair to be unfair if it can be emphasized about Canada's overall performance. But in a game between the two most talented teams in the tournament there would be little separation.
The Americans found this separation in the second period, with Matt Boldy opened a Sidney Crosby Cross-Ice Pass, which was further reinforced by a line change. That saw a strange skater in the other direction, and Larkin shot a shot for what turned out to be a winning goal in the second half.
Errors often have the potential to prove to be expensive, since the idea that misconceptions are further reinforced by the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in Hellebuyck, who was able to win the award again this season. Despite the plenty of high Danger class opportunities that Canada later developed in the game, it wasn't enough to overcome the gaffe that led to the winning goal. – Ryan S. Clark
0:48
Dylan Larkin delivers the Go Shead goal for the team in the second period
Dylan Larkin uses a 2-on-1 situation for Team USA and buries the puck to give his team the lead.
What we learned
Hellebuyck answers the critics
Hellebuyck is considered the best goalkeeper in the world after winning Vezina Trophy last season and claiming it again for the Winnipeg Jets this season. But the 31-year-old American has his critics, who indicate his lack of success if it is most important. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he has a 33-49 career record and back-to-back outputs with a savings percentage below 0.890.
NHL 4 Nations Face-Off | 12.-20. February
Which nation does everything win? The NHL stars from the USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland appear after international fame.
Register today! | Take a look at games here
• Preview: roster, schedule and x factors
• Ranking every player | Evaluate each roster
• Select your list for the US team | More
While some believed that the goal he revealed against Finland was underlining, he was solid for the rest of the competition. Against Canada he gave Connor McDavid a goal in the hurry – which NHL goalkeeper does he not have? – But was an impressive last line of defense in the rest of the path with 20 parades, which achieved some big stops in the third period.
Hellebuyck was one of the players in this tournament who needed a strong performance – for his self -confidence and to cement themselves as a starter for the 2026 Winter Olympics in front of a very crowded field. So far he has made an explanation. – Wyshynski
Canada found countermeasures, but still missed Makar
Even with the defender of Dallas Stars, Thomas Harley, there were questions that Canada had to answer when it came to how one of the best defenders in the game would effectively replace it. Makar ended with overtime victory against Sweden with a little more than 28 minutes of ice age at Canada's overtime victory. It was the best of every skater for both teams.
Makar's absence went beyond his ice age. It meant finding someone who was able to work with the units of the first team power play and penalty killing. Canada turned to Josh Morrissey to operate on the power play at Makar, only to end 0 to 2. As for Harley, he ended with two shots in 18:47 Ice Time. It is not overrated to say that Canada Makar remains against Finland for the game on Monday. – Clark
Historical, chaotic start
Maybe it was the feelings of rivalry that manifested as well as they could have. Perhaps it was the Florida Panthers' Matthew Tkachuk see Brandon Hagel, an NHL -Rival with the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the starting line -up and could not be able to fall his gloves – what was Brady Brady Tkachuk's theory. Perhaps it was the Tkachuk brothers who had their father Keith Ehren, who had part of the record for the earliest fight in an international NHL during the World Cup in an international NHL game with 20 seconds.
This is a record that fights against hail, Sam Bennett and Colton Parayko from the Tkachuks and JT Miller. Whatever three struggles motivated in the first nine seconds of the showdown on Saturday evening, it became a cultural moment in a round-robin tournament on Saturday evening in a round-robin tournament. People who do not talk about hockey talked about hockey what the NHL wanted from this tournament – even if the catalyst was something for this interest that nobody could predict.
The best rivalry in hockey, United States against Canada, got better because a second leg may have been a fader next week. – Wyshynski
1:34
USA, Canada fight three times in the first 9 seconds of the game
Three players from the USA and Canada are punished for three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.
Where were the individual displays for Canada when they needed goals?
Break news from Emily Kaplan
Download the ESPN app and enable Emily Kaplan's message warnings to first receive push notifications for the latest updates. Decide by tapping the warning message in the upper right corner. You can find more information here.
With a view to this game, there was a warm debate about which side was more talented. The way McDavid found space and passed Charlie McAvoy after the first goal of the game is probably the strongest example that those on the Canadian side had correctly.
But outside of this lonely moment? Many of the Canadian stars fought to find the necessary openings that would enable them to use their talent. The most obvious example came in the third period when the reigning hard trophy winner Nathan Mackinnon used his speed at a zone entry to rethink his approach when Jaccob slavin arrived to take a path to the network.
Much of the frustration had to do with the fact that the Americans had rely on a close structure, which made it difficult until later in the third period to find these chances. According to the natural statistics trick, it was Canada to finish the night with 12 chances of high-thinner. This is more than the 10 high-Danger opportunities that it gathered against Sweden-but with fewer goals that it had to show. – Clark
To see players
What a tournament for the lightning wing player. He had a goal and a template against Finland, followed by two gate inlays-against a empties against Canada.
Guentzel always had the reputation of raising himself as an occasion as Stanley Cup Playoff actor at the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. He is the leader for tournament -MVP. – Wyshynski
Part of what Kanada made one of the first favorites for winning the tournament was the cadre's depth of the cadres. This includes pure hard. Since the 2022-23 season, only five players have achieved more NHL goals than Reinhart, who is more than 40 speed for a second campaign in a row.
But after a performance against Sweden, in which he scored zero goals at three shots, he ended with zero goals with zero goals. – Clark
Big questions about the next game
How do you approach a (potentially) meaningless game?
4 nations against the Given winner
With the Wethds bet.
|
team |
Chances |
|
|---|---|---|
|
USA |
+105 |
|
|
Canada |
+135 |
|
|
Sweden |
+650 |
|
|
Finland |
25-1 |
The Americans have already qualified for the championship game on Thursday. That you know. Who their opponents are is a mystery.
The Canadian game against Finland on Monday afternoon will determine whether the Canadians will make their ticket for a resource in the title game or whether the US Sweden competition has any meaning on Monday evening.
Do the Americans play another goalkeeper to give Hellebuyck a break? Heals Matthew Tkachuk from what was sick in the Canadian game and does Chris Kreider give his 4 -nations -Debüt? All in all, these are good problems for the tournament manager team. – Wyshynski
0:19
Charlie McAvoy rocks Connor McDavid with an evil hit on the boards
Charlie McAvoy delivers Connor McDavid a punishing success that everyone can hear in the first period.
Can the space that Canada deprived of the United States against Finland?
Much of what the United States enabled to have success against Canada was the ability to take time and space away, to block recordings and to use a physical style by finishing 30 hits. Could Finland apply a similar strategy on Monday than it takes to a championship playground in the management in Canada?
Finland overcame six goals in his first game in the USA by making Sweden difficult to find opportunities for any kind by taking up space. It is one of the main reasons why Sweden ended with only two high -goers. If Finland uses a similar system, what adjustments do Canada have to make to avoid a reservations in the USA-and an earlier outcome? – Clark
