One of the biggest international hockey games in recent memory has finally arrived with USA and Canada squaring off in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game tonight at 8 p.m.
Tonight’s title contest marks the rematch after the United States knocked off Canada in Montreal at the Bell Centre last weekend with a 3-1 win over their arch nemesis who had home ice advantage and a sellout crowd of 21,000+ fans stunned following USA’s shocking upset.
This time around, the title matchup shifts south to Beantown, where the championship game will now be played on American soil in Boston at TD Garden.
While the first meeting was heated — as expected given the sports and political environment of the situation of the world right now — with three fights within the opening 10 seconds of the game, it’d be surprising if that’s the case again with a championship now on the line.
There’s no room for error. There’s no tomorrow for both teams that have such high expectations and standards that anything but a win will be viewed as a letdown if either loses to its fellow North American neighbor.
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It’s winner take all on the international stage for NHL players for the first time in almost a decade. This game means everything to those representing their country perhaps for the first or last time ever.
Can the USA clinch its first best-on-best title in 28 years when they defeated Canada to win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey? Or will Canada get its revenge from Saturday night, and give USA a taste of their own medicine by beating them in their own building to win the tournament?
Stay tuned for our live, updated analysis throughout United States vs. Canada in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off championship game:
Both goalies have played in massive games before in Boston.
Binnington, Canada’s netminder, notably won Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final in this arena against the Bruins where he turned aside 32 of 33 shots (.970 save percentage), giving the St. Louis Blues their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Meanwhile, Hellebuyck, United States starting goalie, recorded a 30-save shutout in a 4-0 victory over Notre Dame in the Hockey East championship back when he was in college at UMass-Lowell.
Whoever comes out on top between Binnington or Hellebuyck will add yet another special victory inside in their career at TD Garden.
TV: ESPN
Game prediction: USA 4, Canada 2
MVP pick: Hellebuyck (+250)
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