The hope was that the 4 Nations Faceoff would be a “best-on-best” tournament played with the intensity and level of play we’ve all come to expect during Olympic play and the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That hope has been realized after a couple of games as Canada and Sweden opened things up with an overtime thriller that featured a superstar turn from 37-year-old Sidney Crosby as the best player on the ice.
This view confirms that Sidney Crosby does in fact have eyes in the back of his head pic.twitter.com/wFb0vcaYLR
— Bob Pompeani (@KDPomp) February 13, 2025
"He will go down as the greatest player to ever represent his country," said Team Canada coach Jon Cooper of Sid the Kid. "If not, he's going to be on the Mount Rushmore for sure, especially for people who have thrown a Canadian jersey on."
And then the Tkachuk brothers took over in the third period on Thursday night as Team USA blew out a Finnish crew, 6-1, whose back end has been ravaged by injuries before the tournament even started.
The game turned midway through when Mike Sullivan rejiggered the forward lines and put Chelmsford native Jack Eichel with Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk together in a trio that played like a pack of junkyard dogs. The Americans aren’t the sleek, skilled greyhounds that Team Canada trotted out to dazzle the Swedes on opening night, but they have the kind of hard-hitting, heavy crew that’s going to be very effective in a short tournament format like the 4 Nations.
The Tkachuk brothers each finished with two goals and represented Massachusetts hockey royalty well even if they grew up elsewhere during their dad Keith’s NHL career, a show of dominance that is ushering in a new era of USA Hockey as a dominant force at the junior and professional level.
"I don't really think it's hit yet, to be honest with you,” said Matthew Tkachuk, who is chasing another championship after winning the Stanley Cup last June. "I can only imagine how proud my parents, family and friends that have helped us along the way [are]. I know from my experience I was really excited for this tournament and after a couple of days this has been the best experience in my hockey life."
The real winner, though, has been the NHL for putting together a midseason tournament that really looks like it’s going to work. And Team USA for the way they have embraced Guy Gaudreau as a part of everything that they are doing this week in Montreal in a way that celebrates the love that the rest of those players had for Johnny Hockey prior to his tragic passing over the summer.
Guy Gaudreau, the father of the late Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, was on the ice for Team USA's practice ahead of this week's 4 Nations Face-Off ❤️
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) February 11, 2025
(via @Sportsnet)pic.twitter.com/QhYwDzlhlt
Sure, there are going to be injuries like the one to Shea Theodore that’s knocked him out of the rest of the tournament one game into the proceedings, a tough break for Team Canada and also for the Vegas Golden Knights team that’s counting on him down the stretch.
But in the grand scheme of selling the NHL and the game of hockey on the international stage, the 4 Nations already looks like a winner and a great precursor to the Olympic games in Italy next year.
From a Boston Bruins perspective, things are off to a pretty good start as well.
Brad Marchand scored a goal in the Team Canada win over Sweden and showed everybody that he’s still playing at the top of his game when he’s got good talent around him. The Bruins captain has also put his personality on display as he’s brought life and good humor to a Team Canada crew that can get a little too serious at times amidst the awesome talent level they obviously carry into the 4 Nations as the heavy favorite.
"Risky play there at the end 8-7!"
— Mia (@realmiaaa) February 13, 2025
How can you NOT love Brad Marchand. #4Nations #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/G2nlDzoaRj
The line of Marchand, Brayden Point and Seth Jarvis was Canada’s best in the first half of the game against Sweden, even as the bench got shortened significantly down the stretch and into the 3-on-3 overtime session.
Charlie McAvoy was a plus-2 in 19:45 of ice time and finished with four shots on net and a takeaway in a solid effort where his black-and-blue style at D-man is going to fit in well when he mixes it up with the Tkachuk boys.
Imagine having not just one BUT TWO TKACHUK BROTHERS blitzing towards you 😳 pic.twitter.com/GnZSdkACtm
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) February 14, 2025
Elias Lindholm is operating in a fourth-line role for Team Sweden and finished with three shot attempts, a couple of blocked shots and a couple of hits in 10:47 of ice time while serving his role competently. Jeremy Swayman did not dress in the first game for Team USA as Connor Hellebuyck got the start and Jake Oettinger served as the backup for the Americans in their win over Team Finland.
So the Bruins are doing a good job of representing the Black and Gold at the international tournament that has the whole hockey world watching, even as the drama is ratcheting up a bit as well. WEEI was reporting on Thursday morning that Marchand had a 1-on-1 meeting in Montreal with Bruins GM Don Sweeney, who is also serving as the general manager of Team Canada during the 4 Nations Faceoff tournament.
It could have been a run-of-the-mill meeting between Sweeney and a superstar player who’s going to be more of a role player for Team Canada, or perhaps it has greater meaning as NHL roster movement is expected to happen during the two weeks while the 4 Nations tournament is being played.
Does Mike Milbury think there's any chance Brad Marchand will be dealt before the #NHL deadline?
— The Greg Hill Show (@TheGregHillShow) February 13, 2025
Milbury: "I think it has to be explored." @WEEI pic.twitter.com/RvKbA2cG66
That will be a story to be broken down when the tournament returns to Boston next week, though.
For now, though, the storyline is trained on the ice where the 4 Nations tournament has been living up to the hype while getting everybody poised for a legitimate hockey event on Saturday night as Canada and the USA face off against each other in the preliminary round in front of a Montreal crowd that was heard audibly booing the Star-Spangled Banner ahead of their Wednesday night game.
Some boos for The Star-Spangled Banner in Montreal despite an announcement to respect the anthems prior. pic.twitter.com/gvPeX1xitG
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) February 14, 2025
“I didn’t like it,” said Tkachuk pretty bluntly when asked about the booing during the US national anthem. "That's all I've got."
One would expect those Tkachuk hard feelings are going to carry over into Saturday night’s proceedings against Canada, and hopefully one more time in Boston next week for the 4 Nations trophy if everybody gets their wish and both Canada and the United States are playing for it all at TD Garden.
