The bitter rivalry between the USA and Canada has continued for years. Both teams took on each other on Saturday night in the Four Nations tournament. A win for the USA would clinch them a spot in the championship game on Thursday night. They’d get it done as they took Canada down 3-1. The night was filled with fights, heavy hits, and lots of cheers and boos.
The game got off to a very physical start. Just two seconds into the game, Bradon Hagel and Matthew Tkachuk dropped the gloves. Hagel seemed to have gotten the best of Tkachuk but it was a start that no one saw coming.
A second later, Brady Tkachuk and Sam Bennett broke out into a fight. This round, Tkachuk got the best of Bennett with some heavy punches. Two fights just a second apart? Who knew?
After a puck freezing by Canada’s goaltender Jordan Binnington, the third fight of the night occurred. J.T. Miller and Colton Parayko dropped the gloves just nine seconds into the first period. This one wasn’t much of a fight as Parayko was all over Miller. However, I think it could be said that Team USA was fed up with the booing of their national anthem.
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Canada got the game’s first power play during the third fight between Miller and Parakyo. Miller was sent to the box for fighting and cross-checking. While Canada couldn’t capitalize on this opportunity, USA’s goaltender Connor Hellebuyck had to make some big saves in tight.
Connor McDavid gave Canada a 1-0 lead at the 5:31 mark of the first period. Drew Doughty set him up with a great pass and McDavid put a backhander over the left shoulder and glove of Hellebuyck. Doughty and Binnington collected assists.
Jake Guentzel tied the game up at one at the 10:15 mark of the first period. Jack Eichel made a nice flat pass down low to Guentzel who then put a snap shot through the legs of Binnington. Eichel and Zach Werenski tallied assists.
Team USA got their first power play at the 12:54 mark of the first period as Sidney Crosby was called for hooking. They peppered Binnington with six shots on net and he had to make a few huge saves on Guentzel to keep the game tied.
Canada got their second power play at the 16:47 mark as Guentzel was called for tripping. The USA came up with a big penalty kill and Hellebuyck had to make some big saves.
Dylan Larkin gave the USA a 2-1 lead at the 13:33 mark of the second period. Matt Boldy set him up with a great pass from the defensive zone and Larkin put a snapshot under the blocker and over the pad of Binnington. A Crosby turnover led to this goal. Boldy picked up the only assist.
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Canada pulled Binnington with 2:08 left in the third period in favor of the extra attacker. It didn’t pay off as they couldn’t get any more pucks past Hellebuyck. Instead, Guentzel scored an empty-netter at the 18:41 mark of the third period to give the USA a 3-1 lead. Larkin knocked down Brock Faber’s shot in center ice and passed the puck to Guentzel who put a snapshot into the empty net. Larkin and Faber were given assists.
Canada would pull Binnington one more time but time would run out and the USA would pull out the regulation time victory.
USA went 0 for 1 on the power play and Canada went 0 for 2. Both teams managed to kill off each other’s man advantages.
Hellebuyck brought the USA to victory with huge saves all night long. He saved 25 of 26 shots, giving him a .962 save percentage. Binnington, on the other hand, allowed a few soft goals, which led to a defeat. He saved 20 of 22 shots, giving him a .909 save percentage.
Goal Summary
1st Period:
McDavid (1) Assists: Doughty (1), Binnington (1)
Guentzel (2) Assists: Eichel (3), Werenski (4)
2nd Period:
Larkin (1) Assists: Boldy (2)
3rd Period:
Guentzel (3) (Empty Net) Assists: Larkin (1), Faber (2)
USA and Canada’s Next Game
Canada takes on Finland at 1 pm and USA takes on Sweden at 8 pm on Monday, Feb 17. at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
