A rematch for the ages will decide the winner of the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off.
A 5-3 Canada win over Finland Monday afternoon sealed the championship matchup. The Canadians will play the United States in a winner-take-all game at TD Garden in Boston on Thursday.
Though Canada’s win rendered Monday night’s game between the U.S. and Sweden meaningless — the U.S. had already clinched the top seed with two regulation wins — the teams took the game seriously.
Chants of “USA! USA!” filled TD Garden before puck drop, and the U.S. kept the arena buzzing early. Chris Kreider, who is from Massachusetts and was playing in his first game of the tournament, opened the scoring 35 seconds in. Kreider, the veteran New York Rangers forward, started the game on the Brady Tkachuk–Jack Eichel line and put home the rebound off a Zach Werenski shot.
“We played him with Jack Eichel, and I thought he was a good fit there,” head coach Mike Sullivan said about Kreider. “He goes to the net. He’s good in the puck pursuit game. He can really skate. His north–south speed is a challenge for any opponent.”
“That was awesome,” J.T. Miller, Kreider’s Rangers teammate, said. “First shift too, that was great. Chris has been a hell of a teammate and to get the chance to come in today and then produce and get on the scoreboard, happy for him.”
U.S. battles injuries
Kreider was in the lineup for the injured U.S. forward Matthew Tkachuk, who missed the final 12:36 of Saturday’s 3–1 win over Canada in Montreal.
The older Tkachuk brother was one of several American players who missed time in the tournament with an injury. Defenseman Charlie McAvoy missed Monday’s game with an upper-body injury, and forwadr Auston Matthews was “nicked up,” per Sullivan, who added that he would likely have an update on Tuesday. Jake Sanderson replaced McAvoy in the lineup.
McAvoy was admitted to Mass. General Hospital on Monday, according to the Boston Globe.
Brady Tkachuk left Monday’s game in the first period after crashing into the net. He briefly returned, but did not play after the first period. Sullivan said that he was held out for precautionary reasons.
Jake Oettinger started in goal for the U.S. in place of Connor Hellebuyck. He stopped 21 of the 23 shots he faced.
Team Sweden had “flu issues,” per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Mika Zibanejad and Rickard Rakell did not play. Samuel Ersson started in place of Linus Ullmark, who reportedly wasn’t feeling well.
After the U.S. took an early 1-0 lead, Sweden scored two unanswered goals in the second half of the first period for a 2–1 win. Despite recording 33 shots, the U.S. was unable to solve Ersson a second time.
“A lot of missing bodies,” Miller said. “You know, we worked our asses off and came up just short. Tons of chances in the third. Both goalies played really well. I think we’ve earned to be in the game on Thursday and we’re proud of that.”
Canada survives late Finnish surge
Canada led 4–1 with 1:40 to play Monday. But what looked like a sure victory at that point soon became the fight of their lives.
Mikael Granlund scored twice in 23 seconds to bring the Finns within a goal, putting some serious tension in the waning moments. Had this game gone to overtime, Sweden would have advanced to the final, as they later beat the U.S. in regulation, per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli.
But Sidney Crosby would ice the game with an empty netter a few seconds later, putting an end to Finland’s comeback and eliminating the Finns and Sweden.
The rematch
Canada and the U.S. have a quick break before the championship game, which is likely a blessing for both sides.
Sullivan said that the travel arrangements from Montreal “weren’t easy” — all four teams left amid a Montreal snowstorm Saturday and played Monday in Boston, with only one day in between games.
The extra day off allows the U.S. to further rest and evaluate its injured players — McAvoy, Matthews, and both Tkachuk brothers — all of whom are key cogs to the success of this American team and will be sorely missed if they are unable to play on Thursday.
“Yeah, it’s nice,” Miller said. “Especially when you’re down a handful of guys, we need the extra time. I know everybody’s going to be hitching to get back in when game time comes Thursday.”
“We’re going to try to get some rest here,” Sullivan said. “And then we’re going to reinvest. We’re going to engage and re-engage and try to put our best game on the ice. And we look forward to what we would anticipate would be an incredible atmosphere here in Boston.”
For Sweden’s captain, Victor Hedman, falling short of Thursday’s final is disappointing. But he felt that Sweden had “a lot of good building blocks” moving forward. On the NHL team he captains, the Tampa Bay Lightning, he has teammates on both sides of the Canada–U.S. rivalry — Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel, and Brayden Point for Canada; Jake Guentzel for the U.S. He understands the gravity of this game.
Near the end of the English segment of Hedman’s post-game media availability, a reporter asked him a question that was difficult to answer after a loss. It was met with scattered laughter around the media room.
“If you were working Swedish television and they forced you to pick a winner on Thursday night, and why, what would you say?”
Hedman paused.
“Wow, that’s a tough one,” he said. “You know, I got Haggy, I got a lot of guys on Team Canada, and then I got Guentz on Team U.S., so I can’t really pick a winner … Looking at it, U.S. on home ice …
“But I think Canada gets their revenge.”
