The United States and Canada finished first and second in pool play to earn their spots in the 4 Nations Faceoff championship. The USA came in first with six points, finishing with a record of 2-0-0-1. Canada was next up with five points and a record of 1-1-0-1.

4 Nations Faceoff Pool Play Standings

Team	Record	Points
United States	2-0-0-1	6
Canada	1-1-0-1	5
Sweden	1-0-2-0	5
Finland	0-1-0-2	2

Final standings after pool play. The NHL experimented with a new point system where a team earns three points for a regulation win, two points for an OT win, one point for an OTL and no points for a loss in regulation.

The NHL-sponsored event kicked off with Canada vs Sweden on Wednesday, Feb. 12. Canada earned two points, Sweden one, after a third period comeback from the Swedes. Canada entered the third period with a 3-1 lead. Two goals in the first nine minutes of the third from Sweden knotted the game up at three. Mitch Marner hit the game-winner, aided by the new 10-minute overtime, assisted by Sydney Crosby 6:06 into the extra frame.

The next day, USA dominated the Finnish 6-1. Henri Jokiharju scored first for the Fins before they surrendered the last six goals. The Tkachuk brothers solidified themselves as leaders for USA, scoring two goals each, Matthew Tkachuk also added an assist. Other goal scorers for the States included Jake Guentzel and Matt Boldy.

The second round of games started the afternoon of Saturday, Feb. 15, with Sweden and Finland. Both teams fell behind in the rankings after losing game one. The fight to stay alive for the championship was evident, leading to a battle decided after regulation. Mikael Granlund buried the game-winner in overtime, securing two points for Finland.

Later that day, the North American neighbors went at it. This game was filled with tension from the beginning due to recent political events between the two countries. The Canadian crowd added to this by booing during the United States National Anthem. This prompted the Tkachuk brothers to do what they do – fight. After the first puck drop, Matthew Tkachuk challenged Brandon Hagel to a gloveless brawl. After the second puck drop, Brady Tkachuk joined in on the fun. He and Sam Bennett of Canada dropped the mitts. Finally, some hockey was played, but not for long as J.T. Miller then won another fight for the Americans only nine seconds into the contest.

After all of that, the action got started. Canada’s star, Connor McDavid, retaliated with a quick strike in the first period to make it 1-0. Jake Guentzel got the goal back quickly for the States, tying the game at one a few minutes later. After that, the game slowed down until Dylan Larkin scored the game-winner halfway through the second period. Canada pulled their goalie for the extra attacker late in the game, but the Americans capitalized with another tally by Jake Guentzel from downtown on the empty net.

This 3-1 win secured the top seed for the Americans and left Canada’s championship hopes in jeopardy. Finland, Sweden and Canada were all tied at two points.

In game three of the round-robin, the United States fell to Sweden 2-1 in regulation in a game that did not matter for the USA. This gave Sweden a good shot at the championship, awaiting the results of the Canada and Finland game. Unfortunately for the Swedes, Canada outlasted the Finnish 5-3, establishing their championship appearance due to the head-to-head tie-breaker over Sweden.

Tomorrow night, Feb. 20, USA and Canada will rematch in Boston for the 4 Nations trophy at 8 PM.

Picture of the trophy awarded to the winner of the 4 Nations Faceoff (via: @lukefoxjukebox on X)

The tension will likely boil over from the last matchup and fuel the fire for this game. The United States will get home advantage this time as the game will be in Boston as opposed to Montreal.

The betting odds for this game are dead even. Each team’s money line poses -110 (bet $110 to win $100). This does nothing but show how unpredictable the outcome of this game is.

This game will almost definitely end in a close score. It could be a highly explosive contest with a lot of offense, or the chippiness could slow down the pace, resulting in a goalie showdown. With the amount at stake in this game, it has become a must-watch event.