The must see event of the entire 4 Nations Face-Off tournament happens tonight when the United States and Canada square off on Saturday night in Montreal.
In their opening matchup, USA faced a scare against Finland, going down 1-0 near the halfway point of the first period.
Almost three minutes later, the United States would respond to tie the game and wouldn’t look back. Team USA went on to score the final five goals of the game with all six being unanswered, cruising to a 6-1 victory.
The difference maker was the third period for the United States, scoring three goals in the first three minutes after coming into the period with just a one-goal lead.
Canada is also coming off of a win, albeit a much different version after it blew multiple two-goal leads but held on for a thrilling 4-3 overtime victory against Sweden in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off game on Wednesday night.
The cause for concern for Canada comes on the back end, with their top defenseman Cale Makar officially ruled out for tonight’s contest, with 23-year-old Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley taking his spot in the lineup less than an hour before puck drop.
Which country will ultimately come out on top and put themselves in a great position to make the championship game next Thursday night?
Here’s how to watch, stream, our prediction and more for USA vs. Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament this evening:
TV: ABC
The USA vs Canada round-robin game will broadcast on ABC.
United States vs Canada 4 Nations Face-Off must-see matchup begins at 8 p.m. from the Bell Centre.
Streaming options for the USA-Finland 4 Nations Face-Off contest includes ESPN+.
Puck line: USA -1.5 (+198), Canada +1.5 (-250)
Over/Under: Over 6.5 goals (+106), Under 6.5 goals (-130)
Moneyline: USA (-122), Canada (+102)
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook in New Jersey as of Saturday, Feb. 15.
This matchup truly emulates what best-on-best means with numerous of the top players in the NHL going head-to-head.
Outside of the massive absence of Makar, the key deciding factor for me here is in net. On one end, you have Connor Hellebuyck, who’s been one of, if not the best goaltenders in the NHL this season in Winnipeg and turned aside 20 of 21 shots (.952 save percentage) against Finland.
Then you have Binnington, who’s struggled in St. Louis since winning the Stanley Cup in 2019 and allowed Sweden to stay in the game after allowing multiple goals in the third period.
It’s about a razor sharp margin as you can get, but I have the United States coming out on top in overtime, to give the US another huge victory and making Canada’s game versus Finland on Monday a must-win in order to try and get revenge against the United States in the championship game.
Prediction: USA 3, Canada 2 (OT)
USA: 3 points (1-0-0-0)
Canada: 2 points (0-1-0-0)
Finland: 2 points (0-1-0-1)
Sweden: 2 points (0-0-2-0)
Each country will play one game against the other three countries during the round robin stage. Teams will earn three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win and one point for if they lose in the overtime/shootout. The two teams with the best records will face off against one other in the championship game.
Games will be played under NHL rules, with the lone exception being that overtime will now feature 10 minutes of 3-on-3 sudden death throughout the round robin portion unlike the NHL’s five minutes. If it’s still tied after 10 minutes, the game will then go to a shootout. During the championship game, overtime is just as it is in NHL playoff overtime: 5-on-5 hockey for 20-minute periods with the next team that scores a goal wins the game.
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