On Thursday night, the stage was set for the most highly anticipated hockey game in over a decade at the 4 Nations Face-Off Final in TD Garden. After what felt like an eternity of build-up and sniping at each other through the media since their game in Montreal, the USA, and Canada got the rematch they wanted, delivering an instant classic as Canada triumphed 3-2 in overtime.
In the leadup to Thursday, there was plenty of talk about motivation for both sides, what they were playing for, and how much a win would mean to them, especially for one player in particular: Brad Marchand. The Boston Bruins captain was transparent in saying it meant a lot to him that the Final was being held in Boston, where he has spent his entire 16-year NHL career, but that “you forget about that stuff on the ice.”
The buzz was palpable all day around TD Garden, with fans filling the arena as soon as the gates opened. Dueling “U-S-A” and “Ca-Na-Da” chants could be heard throughout the lower bowl well over an hour before warmups started. Team USA pulled out all the stops during their pregame ceremonies to fire up the team and, especially, the home crowd.
Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who had been ruled out for the rest of the tournament due to an injury and subsequent infection, was released from the hospital earlier in the day. He read off the USA starting lineup in the locker room pregame and was later shown on the jumbotron to a loud ovation. USA Hockey Olympic legend Mike Eruzione was chosen as the ceremonial captain and wore Johnny Gaudreau’s #13 jersey, which had been with the team for the entire tournament, onto the ice. The crowd’s cheer following the national anthem’s conclusion was the loudest the TD Garden has been in years.
Team USA initially struggled to carry the emotional high of the pregame into the game itself, as Canada dictated play for most of the first period. Nathan MacKinnon beat Hellebuyck with a wrist shot from distance less than five minutes into the game and sucked most of the energy out of the building. Canada was the more confident and determined team, baiting the USA into neutral zone turnovers and attacking off the rush.
If not for some big saves by Hellebuyck, it could easily have been 3-0 Canada within 10 minutes. Jordan Binnington made some big saves on the other side, denying Dylan Larkin on a breakaway and giving Bruins fans PTSD, which would only worsen as the game progressed. Brady Tkachuk singlehandedly flipped the momentum late in the period, crashing the net to follow Auston Matthews’ chance to beat Binnington, tie the game, and revive the home crowd. Tkachuk stoked the fire by laying a big hit in the last minute to build on Team USA’s budding momentum before the horn sounded.
The second period started a lot like the first, with Canada dictating the pace of play, having the lion’s share of chances, and Binnington committing larceny once again. However, this time around, it was Team USA who struck to take the lead. Jake Sanderson, the injury substitute for McAvoy on the blue line, beat Binnington off another rebound chance created by Matthews to put the Americans in front.
Team USA looked to have taken a firm grip on the momentum after killing off the first Canadian power play of the game, and their, and the fans’ confidence, started to grow back. However, Boston’s Public Enemy #1, Sam Bennett, soon evened things back up by picking the short side top corner on Hellebuyck, capping off a brilliant passing combination with Mitch Marner, and swinging the momentum back into the air. The last six minutes played out much like the start, but the period ended deadlocked at 2.
The game opened up at the start of the third period, with both teams trading Grade A chances for the first few minutes but failing to break either goaltender. As play went on, it became apparent that Team USA was shorthanded and couldn’t sustain the firewagon pace. Matthew Tkachuk, Chris Kreider, and Vincent Trocheck finished regulation with fewer than ten minutes of ice time, effectively whittling the USA down to nine forwards. Jaccob Slavin and Brock Faber seemingly played every other shift on defense and finished regulation as the only defensemen over twenty minutes.
The TD Garden crowd serenaded the teams with chants of “Johnny Hockey” as time ticked down to the inevitable overtime, but it didn’t come without a few extra skipped heartbeats. The USA narrowly avoided conceding at the last minute of play when JT Miller cleared a loose puck out of the crease that Hellebuyck couldn’t find, and they survived the dying seconds to collect themselves for OT.
USA started overtime on the front foot, testing Binnington right off the hop and having several chances to score the game-winner. The only problem was that Binnington was more than up to the task. He stopped everything the USA threw at him, robbing Matthews and Brady Tkachuk three separate times. About eight minutes into the extra frame, the Americans iced the puck and gave Canada an offensive zone draw, where they got the matchups they wanted. Connor McDavid won the draw, found himself alone in the slot, took a feed from Mitch Marner, and wired the golden goal past Hellebuyck to win the tournament for Canada.
For Canada, it’s a triumphant revenge story that reasserts themselves as the undisputed kings of the castle following their loss to the USA last Saturday. For Marchand, the result adds another championship to a resume that continues to build Hockey Hall of Fame consideration – Stanley Cup champion, World Juniors Gold, World Championships Gold, World Cup of Hockey Gold, and Four Nations Faceoff Gold.
For the USA, it’s another addition to their catalog of “almost” performances against Canada in tournament finals, joining their 2002 and 2010 Olympic gold medal games. The hockey world won’t have to wait long for the rubber match, as the NHL will send its best to the Winter Olympics in Milan next year, and these two nations will be favored to meet again.
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