United States players celebrates their win over Canada following third period 4 Nations Face-Off hockey game in Montreal on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press via AP)AP
BOSTON — The NHL 4 Nations Face-Off has delivered entertaining hockey entering Monday’s slate of games.
Saturday’s game between Canada and Team USA had social media ablaze with three fights in the first 9 seconds. The matchup drew 4.4 million television viewers in the U.S, and peaked at 5.2 million. It was the most-viewed non-Stanley Cup Final hockey telecast since 2019, per ESPN.
“The game is in a better place because (Saturday) night’s game existed,” Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said Sunday.
“That might have been one of the best hockey games I’ve been around,” Team USA Mike Sullivan added.
“… When you watch a game like the game that, it’s hard not to get excited as a hockey fan,” Sullivan added. “I think it was an unbelievable celebration of hockey. It’s best-on-best. It’s the United States’ best players and it’s Canada’s best players. It’s familiarity on both sides. There’s a mutual respect that exists on both sides and there’s also a tremendous amount of pride. And you can see how invested the players are to want to win. The emotional intensity of the game, the pace of play, the execution at such a high rate of speed.”
The NHL 4 Nations Face-Off replaced the annual All-Star Game. When the event was announced, there was social media buzz calling it a “glorified All-Star Game” that wouldn’t be worth watching.
But people are tuning in who don’t normally watch hockey. Cooper received texts from a lot of people after Saturday’s game that featured three fights in the first 9 seconds, including ones who aren’t avid hockey watchers. It was something that made him realize just how much of an impact the tournament is having on people.
“I have no idea what the TV ratings were but from the group of people that were texting me and talking about this game, the audience had to have been vast,” Cooper said. “I think (it was) the combination of everything. The naysayers, you can say whatever you want about fighting. That was what ignited the game. And then when both teams flexed and nobody backed down, a hockey game broke out and it was a fantastic hockey game. When you have the best players in the world not only trying to score but also actually checking, this is what we get.
“The characters, the personalities on both teams really came to the forefront,” he added. “.. There’s lots of great sports and I don’t want to put us in a corner. But it’s a pretty brilliant game with speed, grace and toughness and swag and all those things combined in one that can bring 22,000 people to a frenzy.”
Sullivan agreed with Cooper, adding that he thought Team USA’s win over Canada was great for the sport of hockey — specifically the younger generation of players.
“It could inspire another generation of young players to want to play the game, like some of the events that impacted my generation, whether it be the Miracle on Ice team in 1980,” he said. “There are so many events like that that inspire the next generation of players. You look at the growth of hockey in the United States over the last 10-15 years, it’s been remarkable. And we’re producing players in the United States out of non-traditional hockey markets that are at the highest level of the game. Auston Matthews is from Arizona. We have players coming out of Florida and non-typical hockey markets. That’s the impact that events like this have.”
If Canada beats Finland in regulation on Monday, the teams could have a rematch in the championship game.
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