It’s the calm before the storm. Or rather, the calm AFTER the storm.
Sunday afternoon, after a grueling battle Saturday night between Team USA and Team Canada – won by The Americans 3-1 – at The NHL’s first ever (and likely only) Four Nations Face-off Tournament, both teams were hard at work, preparing for their respective games on Monday.
But first, it should be noted that regardless of whether Team USA beats Sweden or loses to them Monday night, The Americans have a spot in The Final secured by virtue of their two regulation wins thus far (one each versus Finland and Canada).
On the other hand, Canada, Finland and Sweden are all tied with two points apiece, making the battle between the Great White North and The Finns an immensely important afternoon affair. If either Canada or Finland wins in regulation, they will face America in the Title game.
However, should either of them need overtime or a shootout to secure the win, then that will open the door for Sweden to potentially steal the spot in The Final as they would just need a regulation win over America to then set up a rematch for all the marbles Thursday night. Plus, with Team USA’s spot already secured, they can use the game to work on a few things and just make sure nobody gets hurt.
Remember, Matthew Tkachuk is dealing with an undisclosed injury that he suffered against Canada Saturday night. All signs point towards him being fine for Thursday, but sitting out Monday. That means Chris Kreider will potentially draw into the lineup, finally, which would likely carry extra meaning for him considering his upbringing in Massachusetts.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s get to some items from Sunday’s media avails.
1) Cale Makar, who missed Saturday night’s game with an illness, is trying everything possible to be back against Finland. “Every new day he’s a little bit better and trending in the right direction,” Team Canada Head Coach Jon Cooper told the media. “I said this last night and I’m gonna continue to say it. I can’t speak for Cale, but we’re on top of everything and I know if he can go, he’s gonna go.” Makar himself called missing Saturday’s game, “one of the toughest decisions he’s ever had to make.” While we won’t have any answers until closer to puck drop, it would be foolish to bet against him returning.
2) Jordan Binnington has started each of Canada’s games in net. With Monday’s tilt being a must-win, it has led some to wonder if he will remain Canada’s starter. All Jon Cooper would say when asked if he had a decision made already was, “I do, but we’re meeting with the guys tonight, so I should tell them first.” Read into that what you will.
3) Team Canada didn’t get into their hotel in Boston until 6 AM due to weather-related travel delays. But Jon Cooper is adamant it won’t affect his team. “I walked into my hotel room at 6:05 this morning, so that’s a tough grind. For whatever reason decisions were made. But sometimes, when you get lemons, you gotta make lemonade. There’ll be no excuse for us. This is just another thing you gotta fight through.
“Whether you’re fighting through a check or you’re fighting through a travel problem and you’re fighting it, getting in late, if this was Game Seven of The Finals, it’s not something you’re gonna sit back and say, ‘oh if we didn’t get in so late.’ No, this is stuff you gotta fight through. That will not even be close to our mindset going into tomorrow.” It certainly sounds like Team Canada won’t be letting their late arrival affect them on Monday, but the results on the ice will speak for themselves.
4) Team USA has a spot in the championship game locked up, so will they really go all out against Sweden? According to Jack Hughes, it’s not an emotional letdown type of game. “I don’t think it’s one of those. I think like we only have four games with this group, so I think we’re really excited for tomorrow. We don’t get to play with each other much and we got a great group of guys and we got a good thing going on the ice, so it’s not a thing of emotional letdown or whatnot. We’re all really proud to wear The USA jersey and we’re gonna be ready to go tomorrow night.”
5) New Jersey Devils fans will be torn tomorrow as Jack Hughes (Team USA) and Jesper Bratt (Team Sweden) will be on opposite sides. Hughes though is excited about the matchup. “It’ll be good. Definitely, played with a lot of good players in the first two games, so excited to see Bratt. I watched his first game and he looked pretty good. So I’m excited to see him tomorrow and then I’m really looking forward to getting back with him in New Jersey and having a really good last push.” He made sure to add there are no bragging rights between the two usual Peanut Butter Jelly linemates.
6) Team USA Head Coach Mike Sullivan has a long, deep history with Canada’s superstar, Sidney Crosby. But that relationship did not get in the way Saturday night, nor will it should Team USA and Team Canada meet again in the Title Game.
“I have great respect for Sid and care deeply for him,” Sullivan explained. “He and I have worked together for a long time and he’s a terrific person and a fierce competitor. His body of work in The League, his legacy as a hockey player, speaks for itself. Having said that, when you get in these types of events and I’m sure he would answer the question the same way I’m going to answer it, he is gonna do everything in his power to try to win. That’s what makes him the champion that he is. From my standpoint, I’m gonna do everything as the coach of The US team to try to put our guys in positions to be successful and we’re gonna do everything we can to try to help our group win. That’s just the world that we live in.”
Well-spoken words by Sullivan. Now let’s wait and see if the cameras catch any fun exchanges between the two during the postgame handshake line should they meet on Thursday night.
photo by Blittner
