USA vs. Canada 4 Nations Final: How to Watch, Lines, Betting Odds

If you thought Saturday’s game between Team USA and Canada was intense, tonight should be off-the-charts good.

That game, if you remember, started off with three fights in the opening 9 seconds.

Then, things settled into a good, old fashioned hockey game.

Canada took the early lead, but USA tied it and left Montreal with a 3-1 win.

That victory earned Team USA a spot in the final. Canada had to beat Finland on Monday to punch its ticket.

But now they’re here for the rematch everyone has been waiting on.

“As a fan, that was a beautiful thing to watch,” Aaron Ekblad told NHL.com on Thursday.

“It was really fun.”

The Panthers have three players going tonight: Matthew Tkachuk for Team USA; Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett for Team Canada.

At least one player will be bringing back gold from Boston.

“Cheer for your guys, right? You’ve got three players left,” Paul Maurice said. “The rooting interest is, just stay healthy. That’s it. I just want everyone to end healthy. But the spectacle as a fan, I’m looking forward to watching this game. The tension of it, you just don’t get this kind of juice in the middle of a hockey season.’’

Tkachuk will be back in the lineup tonight after missing Monday’s game with a lower-body injury he sustained in the third period against Canada last weekend.

Brady Tkachuk and team captain Auston Matthews will also return for Team USA.

“Brady and Matthew, first and foremost, are really good hockey players,” USA coach Mike Sullivan said. “And they’ve been a big part of the success that we’ve enjoyed to this point in this tournament. I also think they have the ability through their personality to give our team a whole lot of confidence and swagger.

“I know what this tournament means to them personally and how important it is to put our best game on the ice. So I know they’re excited to play. They’re excited for this opportunity. It’s an unbelievable opportunity. This is as good as it gets with respect to best-on-best.”

4 NATIONS FACE-OFF NOTES

• Team USA will be without Boston defenseman Charlie McAvoy due to an infection from a shoulder injury. He has been released from the hospital.
• How to Watch: Today’s game is available on ESPN and and can be streamed on both Disney+ and ESPN+. In Canada, tune into Sportsnet and TVAS.
• Starting Goalies: For the fourth straight game in this tournament, Canada coach Jon Cooper is going with St. Louis goalie Jordan Binnington — who won Game 7 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final in Boston. Team USA will again have Winnipeg’s reigning Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck in net after he took Monday off against Sweden.
• NHL Betting Odds: This is a pick-em at the local book. To with Canada, a $110 bet pays $100; same goes for your wager on Team USA.

ON DECK

CANADA vs. USA

• When: Tonight, 8 p.m.
• Where: Boston Garden
• National TV: ESPN
• Streaming: Disney+, ESPN+
• Radio: NHL Network SiriusXM
• Betting Odds — EVEN: Money Line (-110/-110); Over/Under 5.5 (+105/-130)

4 NATIONS FACE-OFF SCHEDULE/RESULTS

At Montreal

• Wednesday: Canada 4, Sweden 3 (OT)
• Thursday: United States 6, Finland 1
• Saturday: Finland 4, Sweden 3 OT; United States 3, Canada 1

At Boston Garden

• Today: Canada 5, Finland 3; Sweden 2, United States 1
• Tonight’s Championship: Canada vs. USA, 8 p.m. (ESPN, ESPN+)

PROJECTED TEAM CANADA (1-1-0-1, 5 points) LINES

21 Brayden Point (TBL) // 97 Connor McDavid (EDM) // 61 Mark Stone (VGK)

87 Sidney Crosby (PGH) // 29 Nathan MacKinnon (COL) //13 Sam Reinhart (FLA)

38 Brandon Hagel (TBL) // 71 Anthony Cirelli (TBL) // 16 Mitch Marner (TOR)

63 Brad Marchand (BOS) // 9 Sam Bennett (FLA) // 24 Seth Jarvis (CAR)

5 Devon Toews (COL) // 8 Cale Makar (COL)

44 Josh Morrissey (WPG) // 55 Colton Parayko (STL)

6 Travis Sanheim (PHL) // 89 Drew Doughty (LAK)

50 Jordan Binnington (STL)

33 Adin Hill (VGK)

Scratched: Travis Konecny (PHL), Samuel Montembeault (MON), Thomas Harley (DAL)

Injured: Shea Theodore-UBI (VGK)

PROJECTED TEAM USA (2-0-0-1, 6 points) LINES

7 Brady Tkachuk (OTT)  // 9 Jack Eichel (VGK) // 19 Matthew Tkachuk (FLA)

59 Jake Guentzel (TBL) // 34 Auston Matthews (TOR) // 86 Jack Hughes (NJD)

10 J.T. Miller (NYR) // 21 Dylan Larkin (DET) // 12 Matt Boldy (MIN)

29 Brock Nelson (NYI) // 16 Vincent Trocheck (NYR) // 20 Chris Kreider (NYR)

15 Noah Hanifin (VGK) // 23 Adam Fox (NYR)

74 Jaccob Slavin (CAR) // 14 Brock Faber (MIN)

8 Zach Werenski (CBS) // 85 Jake Sanderson (OTT)

37 Connor Hellebuyck (WPG)

30 Jake Oettinger (DAL)

Scratched: Kyle Connor (WPG), Jeremy Swayman (BOS)

Injured: Charlie McAvoy (BOS)

Projected Lines Courtesy NHL.com