The inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off comes to a close on Thursday when the United States takes on Canada in a highly-anticipated rematch between the two bordering countries. Team USA took down Team Canada 3-1 in Montreal, Quebec, on Saturday, and the championship game takes place in Boston, Mass. Thursday night at 8 p.m. ET.
USA clinched a spot in the title game with that win over Canada, making Monday's 2-1 loss to Sweden largely irrelevant. Canada clinched a rematch with a 5-3 win over Finland on Monday. Team USA opened the tournament with a resounding 6-1 win over Finland, while Canada took down Sweden 4-3 in overtime in its first game.
Saturday's clash between the two neighboring nations was eventful right from puck drop, with not one, not two, but three fights taking place in the first nine seconds of game time. Edmonton star Connor McDavid opened the scoring with a goal, but American goalie Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets kept Canada scoreless the rest of the way. Jake Guentzel (Tampa Bay) scored twice for the United States squad, and Dylan Larkin (Detroit) also found the back of the net.
So which of the two teams is favored to win the championship game? And what else do you need to know about this rematch?
4 Nations Face-Off Final odds, props, more
Team USA won 3-1 on the road on Saturday and are 1.5-goal favorites at home in Boston, according to DraftKings Sportsbook, and are -112 on the money line (wager $112 to win $100) compared to Canada's -108.
The over/under for Thursday's championship clash is set at 5.5, with the Under (-135) favored versus the Over (+114). That shouldn't come as much of a surprise given Saturday's matchup had just four total goals and Team USA has only allowed four total goals over three games this tournament.
Hellebuyck is the current betting favorite to win tournament MVP at +275 odds. McDavid is second at +300. Two other Canadian stars – Pittsburgh's Sidney Crosby and Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon – are the only two other players with odds under +1000 to win MVP, coming in at +400 and +800, respectively.
MacKinnon has the shortest odds for anytime goal scorer (+190) and first goal scorer (+1100) for Thursday's championship, followed by Toronto star and Team USA captain Auston Matthews (+200 and +1300) and McDavid (+215 and +1300).
Team Canada vs. Team USA game preview
Will the bad blood we saw on Saturday carry over to Thursday? Part of that may depend on player availability, including for two players involved in last Saturday's fights.
The Tkachuk brothers -- Matthew (Florida Panthers) and Brady (Ottawa Senators) -- took on Brandon Hagel (Tampa Bay) and Sam Bennett (Florida), respectively, to open the contest before teammate J.T. Miller (Vancouver) dropped his gloves and fought Colton Parayko (St. Louis). There weren't any more fights after those three, but the physicality continued throughout the game, with some big hits on both sides.
Matthew Tkachuk wound up missing most of the third period of the win over Canada with an upper-body injury, and he sat out Monday's game against Sweden. Brady Tkachuk suited up for Monday's game but left with a lower-body injury in the first period and didn't play in the final two periods. Matthews also didn't play against Sweden with an upper-body injury, while Boston's Charlie McAvoy was replaced on the roster by Vancouver's Quinn Hughes, though Hughes can't suit up unless the American team is without six other healthy defensemen. U.S. head coach Mike Sullivan told reporters that he expects the Tkachuk brothers and Matthews to all play on Thursday.
While the Tkachuk brothers have dominated headlines due to the fights, Guentzel has been Team USA's top scorer with three goals, which is tied for the tournament lead. Both Tkachuk brothers have scored twice, and three other US players have scored once. MacKinnon leads Team Canada with three goals, McDavid has two of his own and five other Canadians have found the back of the net, including Crosby, who is tied with USA defenseman Zach Werenski for total points this tournament with five.
Team USA has allowed just four goals in three games played, with Hellebuyck in goal for each of the team's two wins and Dallas' Jake Oettinger starting Monday's 2-1 loss to Sweden. Hellebuyck, a two-time Vezina Trophy winner as the NHL's top goaltender, will almost certainly be in net against Canada on Thursday. Team Canada, meanwhile, has allowed three goals in each of its three contests. St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington has started all three games for the Canadian team thus far. Canada will get a defensive boost against Team USA as Colorado's Cale Makar, one of the NHL's top defensemen, will play after missing last Saturday's loss due to an illness. He returned to the Canadian lineup on Monday in the win over Finland.
Headlined by McDavid, MacKinnon, Crosby and Makar, Team Canada boasts more overall star power than the American squad, but Team USA set the tone physically on Saturday en route to a 3-1 win in front of a hostile Montreal crowd. This time, Team USA gets the home ice advantage in Boston, which should make things tough on the visiting Canadian squad.
