The final of the 4 Nations Face-Off comes down to two major hockey rivals who are loaded with talent.
Canada has multiple MVP winners in Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. The United States has two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck in net, plus plenty of scoring ability.
The USA won 3-1 in the teams’ first meeting in the round robin, a game that started with three fights in the first nine seconds.
The United States will have also the home crowd in Boston on its side as it tries to capture the championship in the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Follow along for all of the action from the 4 Nations Face-Off final between the USA and Canada:
ESPN notes that he hadn’t been on the ice for seven minutes. He takes one shift of several seconds and returns to the bench.
Mitch Marner finds Sam Bennett down low and he wrists a shot past Connor Hellebuyck. That’s Bennett’s sixth shot of the game and first goal of the tournament. USA 2, Canada 2
Vincent Trocheck is called for tripping. The USA kills it off and gets a couple short-handed chances.
Jake Sanderson, who’s in the tournament because of the Quinn Hughes injury and in the lineup because of the Charlie McAvoy injury, puts the USA ahead at 7:31 after jumping on a loose puck. Zach Werenski gets an assist for his sixth point of the tournament. USA 2, Canada 1
USA’s Jake Guentzel and Canada’s Thomas Harley shove each other after an offsides call.
Canada dominating early on shot attempts. USA still doesn’t have a shot on net. Canada has three.
Score is 1-1.
Canada scored first, as it has every game of the tournament, as Nathan MacKinnon picked up his fourth goal. Canada kept jamming the front of the net and was dangerous early. But the USA tied the game on a Brady Tkachuk goal after coach Mike Sullivan had swapped Auston Matthews to that line in place of Jack Eichel. Canada has a 11-10 edge in shots. Tkachuk hit Canada defenseman Thomas Harley hard near the end of the period. The USA has outhit Canada 15-7.
Auston Matthews is moved to the Tkachuk line. He brings the puck out front and finds Brady Tkachuk, who slams home a shot. It’s his third goal of the tournament. Tkachuk is showing no sign of the injury that knocked him out of the last game. USA 1, Canada 1
USA forward Dylan Larkin, who scored the winning goal in the first USA-Canada game, is stopped by Jordan Binnington on a breakaway.
Seth Jarvis has a chance on a rebound, but Connor Hellebuyck makes a pad save.
ESPN showed video of injured defenseman Charlie McAvoy in the USA dressing room announcing the starting lineup to his teammates. McAvoy has a shoulder injury and developed an infection. His arm was in a sling.
Nathan MacKinnon beats Connor Hellebuyck through a screen after skating the puck to the point. He gets his tournament-leading fourth goal at 4:48. Thomas Harley, a late add to the game, gets the primary assist and Sam Reinhart has the second. Canada 1, USA 0
Good back-and-forth. Shots are 3-2 Canada. Brady Tkachuk throws a big hit.
No fights as in the last USA-Canada game.
Once again, the announcer asked for respect for the national anthems. There was a tiny bit of booing at the start of the Canadian anthem but cheers at the end. Wild cheering for the U.S. anthem. The U.S. anthem was booed when the games were played in Montreal.
Canada: Forwards Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, Mark Stone; defensemen Cale Makar, Devon Toews; goalie Jordan Binnington
USA: Forwards Jack Eichel, Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk; defensemen Jaccob Slavin, Brock Faber; goalie Connor Hellebuyck
The Miracle on Ice hero is wearing a jersey honoring the late Johnny Gaudreau. He leads the crowd in “USA, USA” chants. Wayne Gretzky is the honorary Canadian captain.
The USA and Canada will play at 8 p.m. ET at Boston’s TD Garden.
The USA-Canada game will be aired on ESPN.
Sling, Fubo and ESPN+ carry ESPN games.
Players are taking the ice for warmups. Early sign is that USA forward Kyle Connor, injured defenseman Charlie McAvoy and goalie Jeremy Swayman are the scratches. Chris Kreider, who scored against Sweden, will play his second game of the tournament.
Forward Travis Konecny, defenseman Josh Morrissey and goalie Sam Montembeault are the Canada scratches. Morrissey is ill, Hockey Canada said, so emergency replacement Thomas Harley will play his second game of the tournament.
Hockey Canada said the defenseman is ill and Thomas Harley is drawing in for the game.
Defenseman Zach Werenski leads the USA with five points, all assists. Canada forward Sidney Crosby also has five points (one goal, four assists). The USA’s Jake Guentzel and Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon are tied for the tournament lead with three goals. Guentzel scored two of them in Saturday’s win against Canada.
Keith Tkachuk, the father of USA forwards Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, scored five goals for the victorious United States in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. The USA lost to Canada in the opener of the best-of-three final in Philadelphia but then picked up two wins in Montreal for the title. The older Tkachuk scored in the first win.
Canada beat the USA in the 2002 and 2010 Olympic gold medal games, plus swept the best-of-three 1991 Canada Cup final. The USA beat Canada in the best-of-three 1996 World Cup final with two victories in Montreal. Game details
Canada will have defenseman Cale Makar back after he missed Saturday’s game because of illness. He has averaged 26 minutes a game in the tournament, though he is still looking for his first point. The USA, meanwhile, will be missing injured defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who played well against Connor McDavid in that game.
Mike Brehm – USA 4, Canada 3 (OT): Canada’s top players will have a better game, especially with Cale Makar playing this time, but the USA will benefit from the return of its stars who missed Monday’s game. Give the USA the edge because Hellebuyck has outplayed Binnington in the tournament.
Jace Evans – Canada 3, USA 1: Being a USA hockey fan in the 21st century is a disappointing endeavor. And one man has been most responsible for that: Sidney Crosby. I expect Canada’s captain to rise to the occasion yet again and help power his team to another hockey championship. Two other reasons to pick Canada here? Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon – the two best forwards in the world.
Team Canada won the last three best-on-best tournaments involving NHL players, with Sidney Crosby playing a major role. He scored in overtime of the gold-medal game at the 2010 Olympics, scored in the final of the 2014 Olympics and was MVP of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Canada’s Brad Marchand scored the series-clinching goal against Team Europe in 2016.
Injured USA defenseman Charlie McAvoy could be in attendance at Thursday’s game, NHL.com reported. He has been ruled out of playing because of a shoulder injury and an infection in his shoulder. The Boston Bruins defenseman posted the following photo on social media.
The United States is missing defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who suffered a significant shoulder injury. Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk, who missed Monday’s game, and Brady Tkachuk, who was hurt Monday, are expected to play.
Canada is missing defenseman Shea Theodore. Both teams reportedly also are dealing with illnesses.
USA’s Connor Hellebuyck (2-0, 1.00 goals-against average, .957 save percentage) vs. Canada’s Jordan Binnington (2-1, 2.60, .892).
Canada goalie Jordan Binnington will be playing in the visiting crease at Boston’s TD Garden. In 2019, the St. Louis Blues goalie stopped 32 of 33 shots to beat the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. That gave the Blues the franchise’s first championship.
President Trump called the U.S. hockey team on Thursday morning, wishing them luck against Canada in the championship game. USA general manager Bill Guerin told Fox News that he had hoped the president would attend the game, but Trump said he is addressing U.S. governors on Thursday evening.
(Times p.m. ET)
Players listed alphabetically.
No., position, player, NHL team
Note: Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson and New Jersey Devils defenseman Brett Pesce are being brought in as possible emergency replacements. Here are the rules on whether they can play.
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