Team USA and Canada set for 4 Nations Face-Off final showdown in Boston
The 4 Nations Face-Off has taken center stage over the last week. Now on Thursday, all eyes will be on Boston as Team USA and Canada square off at TD Garden for the championship in a rematch of last week's game that started with three fights in the first nine seconds.
After sitting out the last two Winter Olympics, the NHL's best returned to international play this month for a tournament that replaced the league's All-Star Game, a midseason exhibition that mattered little and was treated by the players as such.
Instead, the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden all sent their stars and it's been a major success.
USA vs. Canada hockey game tonight
On Saturday in front of 21,105 fans at Bell Centre in Montreal, the teams dropped the gloves three times in the opening seconds, sending the crowd into a frenzy.
Canada's Connor McDavid opened the scoring, giving Canada the first period lead. But just under five minutes later, Jake Guentzel knotted things up.
In the second period, Dylan Larkin gave Team USA the lead for good. Guentzel added an empty net goal, and USA went on to a 3-1 win.
The win gave Team USA a 2-0 record in round-robin play, sending the Americans to the finals. With the games shifting to Boston on Monday, Canada topped Finland to set up the rematch with a title on the line.
What time is USA hockey game?
The championship game takes place Thursday at TD Garden with a scheduled start time of 8 p.m.
The USA hockey injury report includes Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who won't suit up. He suffered a "significant" shoulder injury in round-robin play. He subsequently got an infection, leaving him hospitalized.
What channel is USA vs. Canada hockey?
So far, the tournament has been historic, especially the fight-filled round-robin matchup between the North Americans on Saturday that was the most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final game in a decade.
Thursday's game will be broadcast on ESPN, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes and Disney+.
Eyes on national anthem amid tariff war
With the cross-border tension following President Donald Trump's tariff war and his calls for Canada to be made the 51st state, the tournament has much of the flavor of the Cold War meeting with the Soviets in Lake Placid.
Canadian fans loudly booed the U.S. national anthem Saturday night in Montreal. in Boston on Monday, when the TD Garden public address announcer called for respect, the payback for "O Canada" was tepid; instead, the Americans belted out "The Star-Spangled Banner" at full throat.
"All that stuff — throw it all out the window. It's one game here, and one game for everything," U.S. forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "Our team's helped grow the game here in this country already. And I think a win can just knock that door right down and open up a whole new wave of hockey players throughout the whole country."
Canadian forward Brad Marchand, who plays for the Boston Bruins and will be skating on what is ordinarily his home ice, dismissed the political angle, saying the hockey was good enough to sell itself. He recalled watching in his family's basement when the Canadians beat the U.S. in the gold medal game of the 2002 Salt Lake City Games.
And he hopes some kid in Nova Scotia was watching when the Americans and Canadians matched up on Saturday in Montreal, or again on Thursday night in Boston.
"This will be another memory, another core memory for a lot of a lot of kids growing up, a lot of hockey fans for both American and Canadian players — and probably kids all across the world," he said. "So it's a gift and a privilege to play in these games. And definitely one you don't take for granted."
Will President Trump attend USA vs. Canada game?
President Trump will not be in attendance at Thursday night's game.
The president said he has a scheduling conflict, but called the team to wish them luck.
"I'll be calling our GREAT American Hockey Team this morning to spur them on towards victory against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished and very important Fifty First State," Mr. Trump posted on social media. "I will be speaking before the Governors tonight in D.C., and will sadly, therefore, be unable to attend. But we will all be watching, and if Governor Truseau would like to join us, he would be most welcome. Good luck to everybody, and have a GREAT game tonight. So exciting!"
How much do 4 Nations Face-Off tickets cost?
If you're hoping to go to the championship game, you'll have to open your wallet. As of Thursday morning, the game is sold out, leaving fans turning to the secondary market.
On ticket sites like StubHub, Gametime, and Ticketmaster, the cheapest tickets cost about $1,200 apiece including fees. For that price, you'd be watching the game from balcony.
By comparison, when the Boston Celtics were set to clinch their own championship at TD Garden in June, the cheapest tickets on the secondary market were around $1,500.
James Kopacki, a U.S. Navy veteran, came up from Fort Worth, Texas, to watch the game, buying tickets after watching the Americans beat Canada in the opening round.
"That game turned out to be so good. That's why we're here," he said. "I've never seen a game like that, as far as the tension and the desire to win. And not just that: the tension between our countries."
Kopacki said he spent $1,500 on the tickets, and he's been monitoring the price as the hype increases.
"If the tickets reach $5,000," he said, "then we're going to sell them and go to a bar in Boston and watch for free."
