4 Reasons Why the USA-Canada 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game Will Be Awesome

Star-studded Canada wasted no time exposing Finland’s sparse blue line on the way to a 5-3 win Monday at TD Garden. Finland made things interesting with two quick goals in the final minutes, but it wasn’t enough for a comeback. Canada has officially clawed its way into the 4 Nations Championship Game Thursday.

Of course, the USA had already punched its ticket to the championship via regulation wins over Canada and Finland. Thus, the stage is set for another epic USA vs. Canada showdown – this time for all the marbles.

“There’s no bigger rivalry in hockey than Canada-USA,” Canada forward and Bruins captain Brad Marchand said after Monday’s win.

The intensity of Saturday’s game still has the entire sports world talking. Here are four reasons why the USA-Canada 4 Nations championship game will be awesome.

It’d been nine years since Canada and the USA squared off in best-on-best international play before Saturday, so perhaps we’d forgotten just how bitter this rivalry gets. Three fights in the first nine seconds of the game reminded us pretty quickly.

Will it start the same way on Thursday?

"To be determined," Marchand smirked.

Not only did the first game remind us how deep-seated Canada vs. USA hockey lore has always been, but it ignited a brand new chapter with new heroes, disappointments, fans, and questions.

Nathan MacKinnon, who scored two goals Monday, seemed eager to get another crack at USA.

"The last thing we wanted to do was go home today or tomorrow," he said postgame. "We'd love to play the Americans again. We feel like we could beat those guys."

Now that Cale Makar is back, the team will have a strengthened defense. The team is looking for revenge, and the rivalry is fresh after coming out of hibernation on Saturday. USA head coach Mike Sullivan called that one a "celebration of the game," so imagine what the party will be like with a title on the line.

It’s a dang shame the two best defensemen in the world – Canadian Cale Makar and American Quinn Hughes – have had to sit out this tournament. But Makar, who was out with illness, returned to Canada’s lineup and played at his normal, elite level.

He ended the game a plus-one after logging 23:57 time on ice.

"I feel great, I felt really good today," Makar said postgame, adding that he'll be ready to go Thursday if nothing changes.

Phew!

Canada is noticeably sharper with their No. 1 defenseman in the lineup, and hockey fans will be treated to an even higher level of play than we saw Saturday.

Players, fans, media, and team staff alike agree on one thing when it comes to Thursday's game: The atmosphere in Montreal was one of -- if not the -- best hockey atmospheres they'd ever been a part of.

“It’s just unbelievable, the atmosphere, to play on this stage in Canada, that was pretty cool for all of us I think,” said Jake Guentzel, who scored twice for USA last time out. “There’s a lot of excitement from our team coming out for warmups and just seeing how packed it was. That was pretty special.”

With tensions rising on and off the ice, there's a palpable pressure on Boston and the USA to respond and somehow one-up the atmosphere provided in the heart of the hockey world. If TD Garden can even match the energy of Centre Bell, we're in for a treat—and thousands of new hockey fans will be born.

At the center of all the rivalry talk, all the banter, and all the country pride, are the best hockey players in the entire world playing some of their most intense hockey. The pomp and circumstance may draw old fans and new fans into this tournament, but the skill level and the product itself are going to keep them for life.

You've got the offensive firepower of team Canada with Hart Trophy winners like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby -- and top scorers like Sam Reinhart and Mitch Marner. Then you've got the defensive clinic that is USA, with Jaccob Slavin an essentially perfect shut-down defenseman, Brock Faber emerging right next to him, and the best goalie in the world in Connor Hellebuyck to top it all off.

We're going to get drama, fighting, and chirps, sure. But we're also going to get the most elite active forwards jumping through every hoop they have to try to find some holes in a ridiculously tight defense.