Stage is set for epic USA-Canada rematch with 4 Nations title at stake

BOSTON -- Canada's only loss at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament was to their arch rival -- the United States. But the painful sting from that defeat will be short lived if Canada gets revenge Thursday night at TD Garden.

The Canadians secured a spot in the tournament's championship game with a 5-3 victory over Finland in Monday afternoon's round robin finale in Boston. The Americans, who clinched a spot in the title game after defeating Canada 3-1 at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, will be waiting for them.

"The last thing we wanted to do was go home today," Canada center Nathan MacKinnon, who scored two goals versus Finland, said after Monday's win. "The Americans, we'd love to play them again. We feel like we can beat those guys. We plan on playing a little better Thursday."

The first matchup between the United States and Canada was pretty even despite the 3-1 score line. The Americans out-hit the Canadians 34-28 and had a 30-28 advantage in faceoff wins, but Canada had a 26-23 edge in shots on net and a 17-15 lead in blocked shots. Both teams played with the intensity of a Stanley Cup Final game.

"I just think they're so dangerous," MacKinnon said. "Not a lot was really going on for either team (Saturday). We kind of gave them a couple looks. They have so much talent, they're gonna score. A lot of the best players in the league are sharing the same ice and the shots are like 20-20, so it just shows how tight everyone is checking right now. I just think every opportunity we want to make them earn and not give them free chances."

The Canadians came out flying against Finland with so much at stake Monday. Connor McDavid put Canada ahead 1-0 just 4:13 into the game. And then 46 seconds later, Nathan MacKinnon doubled his team's advantage. Canada led 3-0 after the first period and eventually increased its advantage to 4-0 before ultimately winning 5-3.

Canada also played much better defensively against Finland than it did versus the Americans, at least until the last three minutes of the third period when Finland got a couple of goals and made it a little interesting. But overall, it was an excellent performance by Canada.

What do they need to do to beat the United States with a championship on the line?

"Probably a lot of the stuff we did tonight," Canada head coach Jon Cooper said postgame Monday. "A lot of this game is about puck management. Sometimes it's not as fun to watch. There's a lot of hard work. Much of the game you might be working without the puck. But when you put it in places and go get it back, you can lean on teams, and we didn't do that very well against the U.S. in the first game. We made some adjustments tonight, and it worked in our favor.

"We have to put stress on them, I didn't think we did enough -- and it's a tribute to them, they have a phenomenal team. They defend and play hard. I think you're going to see two really evenly matched teams go at it. The city of Boston will be treated to something special Thursday night."

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Some sportsbooks have Canada as the underdog ahead of the championship game. It's a bit of an unfamiliar spot for the Canadians. But if anything, it could work in Canada's favor. It's not often this team gets to draw extra motivation from being the underdog.

And the Canadians should be very confident. A total of 14 players on Canada's roster have Stanley Cup-winning experience. They know how to handle the pressure of winner-take-all games.

"We're really looking forward to the game. It's why we came here," Cooper said. "Regardless if other people out there say we're the underdogs, everyone in that locker room thinks we have a really good chance to win."