Where could the U.S. have the edge over Canada in the 4 Nations final?
The 4 Nations Face-Off championship game is upon us and if last Saturday night's clash between the U.S. and Canada is anything to go by, it shouldn't disappoint.
Team USA came out on top at the Bell Centre in Montreal, but whoever is victorious tonight will have all the bragging rights until we hit the ice again in Italy next year.
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On the latest episode of 'The Athletic Hockey Show,' Hailey Salvian, Sean Gentille and former Team USA captain Brian Boyle discussed where the Americans could have the edge.
A partial transcript has been edited for clarity and length. The full episode is available on 'The Athletic Hockey Show' feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
Hailey: Teeing up the final between these two teams, we talked a little bit before you came on Brian about the edge that the U.S. clearly has in net. Connor Hellebuyck is arguably the best goalie in the world right now. It's probably not even an argument — he just is the best. He's likely up against Jordan Binnington. Other than the goaltending, where do you think the U.S. might have the slight or biggest edge over Canada heading into this game?
Brian: I would say the Faber-Slavin (Brock Faber and Jaccob Slavin) pair. I don't know if … see, this is where I hate answering these questions.
Haley: Maybe it is just goaltending, maybe that's just it?
Brian: Obviously I'm American and Canada in hockey is the big brother, they just are. It's hard to beat your big brother (laughs) and the U.S. has been trying …
Sean: You've got a lot of those don't you?
Brian: I've got a few big brothers myself, yeah (laughs), but I was eventually able to beat them in sports. But the U.S. is trying to change that and grassroots hockey has grown and there are more people here. There are 10 times more people here in the U.S. Hockey is not the most popular thing in the U.S., but to the guys that play, it's the only sport. I enjoy baseball, I played it a lot and I played football and all these things. But when you're a hockey player, you're a hockey player and that's what these U.S. guys want to show. I can't say Drew Doughty is going to go out and not have a great game and not shut somebody down. How do you do that? He's (missed) six games and then he comes in and he's been playing. There are so many good players in Canada, and Canada's top players are Connor McDavid, Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby. Sid's doing it in a different way because it seems like he's not got the full use of his extremities right now, but he's still just making it happen. That's what you're up against. So that Faber-Slavin pair, if they can skate and shut down those aforementioned superstars on Canada, that is the key to the game.
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I think Hellebuyck plays solid. The U.S. probably expects a good game from Binnington. He's a gamer obviously and he's won a couple of big games in this same building. Even though that was a few years back now, you can't ever doubt a champion. You expect them to find something. So where's the edge? I like that the U.S. made some moves where they took part of their top line and part of their 'third line' and mixed it up. I liked their middle six against Finland where they were playing more straight lines. They have enough beef now with their skill. If Brady Tkachuk is 100 percent, I'm a lot happier. I was not happy with how he kind of hid in there. I don't know if it's a hip or ribs, but he might be labored. I'm sure he'll figure out a way to be a beast though, because he's incredible. So that pair, and then the Tkachuk brothers; that is what has put them over the edge. That is what reminds me of 1996 the most when the U.S. won. But I'm nervous. It seems like Canada loses in the round-robin and then when it's time to win, they win. They're all champions for that reason. They're on the team for that reason. They both have a great mix of skill, physicality, passion and leadership. It's hard to predict. I am nervous, but I'm very excited to watch it.
You can listen to full episodes of Rates & Barrels for free on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
(Top photo of Connor Hellebuyck: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
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