The 4 Nations Face-Off has been a roaring success for the NHL, and the stage is set for what figures to be an electric final between Team USA and Team Canada at Boston's TD Garden.
Saturday's matchup between the two teams was a high-intensity showdown, and fans will be hoping that same level of energy carries over into Thursday's tournament finale.
The injury to Charlie McAvoy has led to some changes being made to Team USA's defense, and injury replacements have been summoned to Boston in the form of Tage Thompson and Brett Pesce. They won't get into the game unless there's another injury on Team USA which prevents someone from suiting up, but they'll in the area acting as insurance for the current group.
Additionally, Team Canada will be without defenseman Josh Morrissey, who is dealing with an illness.
With all that in mind, let's look at the projected lines for Thursday's game.
First Line: LW- Jake Guentzel, C- Auston Matthews, RW- Jack Hughes
Second Line: LW- Brady Tkachuk, C- Jack Eichel, RW- Matthew Tkachuk
Third Line: LW- J.T. Miller, C- Dylan Larkin, RW- Matt Boldy
Fourth Line: LW- Brock Nelson, C- Vincent Trocheck, RW- Chris Kreider
First Line: LD- Jaccob Slavin, RD- Brock Faber
Second Line: LD- Zach Werenski, RD- Jake Sanderson
Third Line: LD- Noah Hanifin, RD- Adam Fox
Starter: Connor Hellebuyck
Backup: Jake Oettinger
PP1: Matthew Tkachuk, Jake Guentzel, Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Zach Werenski
PP2: Brady Tkachuk, Matt Boldy, Chris Kreider, Jack Hughes, Adam Fox
First Line: LW- Mark Stone, C- Connor McDavid, RW- Brayden Point
Second Line: LW- Sidney Crosby, C- Nathan MacKinnon, RW- Sam Reinhart
Third Line: LW- Brandon Hagel, C- Anthony Cirelli, RW- Mitch Marner
Fourth Line: LW- Brad Marchand, C- Sam Bennett, RW- Seth Jarvis
First Line: LD- Devon Toews, RD- Cale Makar
Second Line: LD- Travis Sanheim, RD- Colton Parayko
Third Line: LD- Thomas Harley, RD- Drew Doughty
Starter: Jordan Binnington
Backup: Adin Hill
PP1: Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Sam Reinhart, Connor McDavid, Cale Makar
PP2: Mark Stone, Brayden Point, Mitch Marner, Seth Jarvis, Josh Morrissey
Thursday's final is set to get underway at 8:00 p.m. ET from the TD Garden in Boston, Mass.
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Karl Rasmussen is a staff writer for the Breaking and Trending News team for Sports Illustrated. A University of Oregon alum who joined SI in February 2023, his work has appeared on 12up and ClutchPoints. Rasmussen is a loyal Tottenham, Jets, Yankees and Ducks fan.
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