Anticipation intensity rising as USA and Canada renew rivalry at 4 Nations..
MONTREAL — After scoring two goals in the Team USA’s first game of the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off — a 6-1 win over Finland — Brady Tkachuk was already thinking ahead.
On Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Team USA will face Canada at 8 p.m.
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There are specific tournament-related ramifications to the game and they matter. Canada is trying to extend their winning streak in best-on-best play to 26 games. And that matters too.
But neither of those, nor anything else matters as much as the simple fact that the best American players and the best Canadian players will square off for the first time since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
Winning the game matters on both sides of the border no matter what comes before or after it.
“It’s going to be the biggest game I’ve played in my career,” said Tkachuk, who has never played in the NHL playoffs for Ottawa. “I’m really looking forward to it. It’s US vs. Canada. It’s bigger than just the guys on the ice. We’re been talking about that game especially. … The excitement is going to be at an all-time high.”
Oilers superstar Connor McDavid nearly matched Brady Tkachuk’s enthusiasm.
“It’s a big game,” Connor McDavid said. “Playing the Americans in Montreal, best-on-best tournament, it’s what you dream of.”
Going into the 4 Nations tournament, there were skeptics, who thought this would be little more than a new variation of the All-Star game with a similar lack of intensity.
From the day the tournament was announced, the players have disputed that and their play through the first two games has backed up their claims.
Rivalries should increase the intensity on Saturday. Sweden and Finland play a 1 p.m. to make it a prime-time game in Scandinavia. USA and Canada will play at 8 p.m.
With the NFL done for the year and the NBA’s All-Star weekend in it’s quietest night, hockey will play its greatest matchup on national TV (ABC) with no real competition for sports attention.
“There’s no bigger rivalry than Canada-US in hockey. I think they’re the games that everybody dreams about playing growing up,” Bruins captain Brad Marchand said. “They’re memories that will last a lifetime. We’re all looking forward to it. It can’t come quick enough. … You always look forward to playing the U.S. It’s a measuring stick to play that team.”
American forward Jake Guentzel agreed.
“Saturday night in Canada, against Canada, I don’t think there’s much better than this for a hockey player of this level,” Guentzel said. “The crowd’s going to be intense, it’s going to be hostile, it’s going to be all of the above, so it’ll be a lot of fun.”
Team USA coach Mike Sullivan said his players will be ready.
“I think everybody’s looking forward to it. I think our players are, and I’m sure Canada’s players are as well. There’s so much familiarity,” he said. “I think there’s a, there’s a mutual respect that exists amongst these guys and there’s also pride on both sides. I know the environment will be electric. It will be a really fun environment to participate in.