NHL 4 Nation Face-off Championship Set
The stage is set for the final showdown between Team USA and Team Canada, the two finalists of the NHL’s 4 Nation Face-Off preliminary-round play. Thursday at 8pm on TD Garden ice, USA and Canada will face each other in the championship game, with the winner earning country bragging rights. It was Team Canada’s 5-3 win over Finland that set up this confrontation, one that many had expected since the drop of the puck to begin the NHL’s 4 Nation Face-Off. Bruins’ captain Brad Marchand summed up his thoughts following Team Canada’s victory over Finland, so set up the championship match, “It’s going to be intense, they’ve (Team USA) shown the type of game they can play, they don’t give up much. They are going to be ready to compete hard on Thursday, and we’re going to be the same. We’re really excited about having another crack at these guys, it’s going to be an intense game for sure.” Also a factor in the win, was the play of Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby who set up Nathan MacKinnon for the eventual game-winner, but with Finland just a goal back 4-3, after Mikael Granlund had put the puck behind Canada’s Jordan Binnington twice in 23-seconds and in the games last couple of minutes, Crosby nailed Granlund knocking him off the puck, and a return pass found Crosby who found the net from out near the red line. Following the game, the ever modest Crosby looked ahead to the final with, “It’ll be a great challenge, you look at the last game and the intensity, and both teams got to know each other pretty well, pretty quickly, knowing what we’re up against, it’s an opportunity. I think we did a great job today of being a little bit better, learning from some things, and we’ll look to do that Thursday.”
It is highly unlikely that we will witness an opening of this pair’s last meeting, in which Team USA defeated Team Canada, as three fights were contested in the nine seconds, following the game-opening puck drop. While the date and opponent have been set, the projected Team USA lineup is certainly not. Injuries to Charlie McAvoy, Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk, and captain Auston Matthews, had three of these key players missing from the roster in the team’s 2-1 loss to Sweden on Monday, with Brady out of the game early, leaving many questions unanswered. McAvoy, according to reports, has an upper-body injury, and had been admitted to Mass. General Hospital. In the loss to Sweden, Brady Tkachuk crashed into the side of the net’s post, causing him to leave the game early in the first period, and did not return. At press time (Tuesday) the Boston Bruins have issued the following medical update on McAvoy: The Boston Bruins have issued the following update on defenseman Charlie McAvoy: Charlie was admitted to Massachusetts General Hospital on Monday to undergo testing related to an upper-body injury sustained during the 4 Nations Face-Off and is currently being evaluated by Boston Bruins Head Team Physician Dr. Peter Asnis. He will not play for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game on Thursday at TD Garden.
Connor Hellebuyck was the Team USA net minder for the first two games, and performed solidly, for game three, Sullivan chose Jake Oettinger to man the net, giving Hellebuyck a rest, with Bruin’s Jeremy Swayman backing up. Former Bruin Linus Ullmark was originally due to guard the goal for Team Sweden, but was scratched due to illness prior to game time, replaced by Samuel Errson. Let The Game Begin!