ClutchPoints
The 4 Nations Face-Off has provided fantastic hockey games in its first four games. Team Canada nipped Team Sweden in overtime, Team USA smoked Team Finland, and the Fins beat the Swedes in overtime. But Saturday night was the main event, as the Canadians and Americans squared off. Team Canada and Team USA played a thrilling game and put the Americans into the 4 Nations Face-Off final.
For the Americans, this was the culmination of a long overhaul of their development system. After embarrassing performances in the 2014 Olympics and 2016 World Cup, they needed to change things up. With no best-on-best since then, there has been nowhere for talents like Auston Matthews to play. Saturday night gave everyone a stage and put the 4 Nations Face-Off under the spotlight.
“Team USA beats Team Canada in a best-on-best game for the first time in 15 years dating back to the round-robin at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver,” TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reported. “The loss also snaps Team Canada’s 17-game win streak at best on best dating back to those same Olympics.”
Now, the Americans will have a chance to win their first international best-on-best tournament since 1996. On that team, Keith Tkachuk had a four-goal game to help secure the win. His sons started this game with two of the three fights in the first nine seconds of the game. Now they have a chance to follow in his footsteps on Thursday,
But Sweden is first and it will be this American team’s first chance to play in front of their home crowd. While the team is focused on winning the title, they want to put on a show in front of the Boston crowd. That game is on Monday at 8 p.m. and the 4 Nations Face-Off title game is on Thursday at the same time.
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