Canada and the USA run it back in the final after their electric round-robin meeting.
The latest: The Americans beat the Canadians, 3-1, on Feb. 15 and now Canada gets a shot at redemption when it matters most. The odds have shifted and the Canadians are now the slight favourite.
Check out our 4 Nations Face-Off odds as of Feb. 20.
4 Nations Face-Off odds
Canada odds to win
After falling to the U.S., Canada played a must-win game against Finland and pulled through, 5-3.
Sidney Crosby is the oldest player at this tournament, yet he’s arguably been Canada’s best player in both wins, recording five points. That’s tied for the most with USA’s Zach Warenski.
Canada’s offence also features Connor McDavid (four points) and Nathan MacKinnon (three points), so it’s easy to maintain faith in the group despite being held to one goal in its loss to the Americans.
Goaltending is what had most fans worried entering the tournament and that remains the case heading into the final.
- Connor Hellebuyck (USA): 2-0, 1.00 GAA, .957 SV%. Stopped 25/26 shots vs. Canada.
- Jordan Binnington (CAN): 2-1, 2.60 GAA, .892 SV%. Stopped 20/22 shots vs. USA.
USA odds to win
The Americans blazed through the first two games of this tournament, beating Finland, 5-1, before winning the first meeting with Canada.
With its spot secured in the finals, the U.S. opted to start Jake Oettinger in its final game against Sweden. But he wasn’t the concern in the 2-1 loss.
Matthew Tkachuk, Auston Matthews and Charlie McAvoy were all missing from the lineup with injuries/injury management.
And then it was Brady Tkachuk who was removed from Monday’s game after slamming into the goal post but that was said to be precautionary by coach Mike Sullivan.
While McAvoy has been ruled out for the final, Sullivan stated that he’s “hopeful” to have the other guys back on Thursday in the postgame press conference. All three are expected to play.
Quinn Hughes was rumoured to join USA but the defenceman was not medically cleared and won’t travel to Boston to join his national team.
Those players are important pieces of this roster so their statuses are worth monitoring in the hours leading up to the final.
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