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Tkachuk Bowl II: Team USA Beats Finland at 4 Nations

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Tkachuk

Matthew Tkachuk got the best of four of his Florida Panthers teammates on Thursday night, scoring twice in the third to help Team USA beat Finland 6-1 in both teams’ opener of the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal.

Tkachuk’s first goal came on a sharp wrister from 55-feet out, his shot clipping the defending stick of Finland defenseman Niko Mikkola — one of four Panthers playing for Finland — and zipping past goalie Juuse Saros just 15 seconds into the third.

Thursday was, pretty much, an extension of Saturday night’s Tkachuk Bowl in Sunrise.

In that game, Brady Tkachuk scored Ottawa’s first goal — only to see Matthew tie the score in the second and have a three-point night.

Thursday, Brady had a pair of goals in the game, as did big brother.

Matthew Tkachuk was named first star of the game; Brady was No. 2.

The two were not only teammates for the first time since the 2023 All-Star Game, but by the second period, were linemates as well.

Brady Tkachuk scored the first goal of the night, then made it 5-1 with Team USA scoring three in the opening 3 minutes of the third period.

Brady’s first goal tied the score at 1 with 9:39 left in the opening period, and the score stayed that way until the Wild’s Matt Boldy scored with 2:56 remaining in the second.

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Matthew Tkachuk’s big shot made it 3-1, opening the floodgates against what had been a strong showing by Saros.

Team USA scored two goals in the first 26 seconds of the third (Jake Guentzel) before Brady Tkachuk got his second of the night.

Not to be outdone, Matthew got in front of the net on a power play and knocked in a shot from Columbus defenseman Zach Werenski with 8:47 remaining.

With the win, the Americans took over the top spot in the standings with three points; Canada, which opened with an overtime win against Sweden on Wednesday, has two.

Although this tournament is being played solely by NHL players and by NHL rules, the point system is different going with the 3-2-1-0 point system instead of the league’s standard 2-1-0.

A team gets three points for winning in regulation (as Team USA did), two for an overtime/shootout win (Canada), one for losing in OT/SO (Sweden), and none for losing in regulation (Finland).

Team USA and Canada play in Montreal on Saturday night, with Finland squaring off against rival Sweden on Saturday afternoon.

The Florida Panthers have eight players between the four teams, most of any NHL team. Four (Mikkola, Sasha Barkov, Anton Lundell, and Eetu Luostarinen) play for Finland; two (Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett) play for Canada, with Tkachuk (USA) and Gus Forsling (Sweden) rounding things out.

All four teams have two more games remaining in the round-robin tournament with the championship next Thursday night in Boston.

FHN’S 3 STARS OF THE GAME

  • 1. Matthew Tkachuk (2 goals, assist), Team USA
  • 2. Brady Tkachuk (2 goals), Team USA
  • 3. Zach Werenski (3 assists), Team USA

4 NATIONS FACE-OFF SCHEDULE

At Bell Centre, Montreal

  • Wednesday: Canada 4, Sweden 3 (OT)
  • Thursday: United States 6, Finland 1
  • Saturday: Finland vs. Sweden, 1 p.m. (ABC, ESPN+); United States vs. Canada, 8 p.m. (ABC, ESPN+)

At TD Garden, Boston

  • Monday: Canada vs. Finland, 1 p.m. (TNT/truTV, Max); Sweden vs. United States, 8 p.m. (TNT/truTV, Max)
  • Thursday, Feb. 20: Championship game, 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN+)

Standings

  • 1. United States 3 points; 2. Canada 2; 3. Sweden 1; 4. Finland 0

ON DECK: GAME No. 58
SEATTLE KRAKEN at FLORIDA PANTHERS

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