Canada and the USA drop the puck on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET in Boston.
Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan says he’s ready for Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off championship game against Sidney Crosby and Team Canada to be even more competitive than the team’s first tournament matchup.
That’s saying something given that Saturday’s game started out with three separate, and reportedly pre-planned, fights in the first nine seconds of play.
Mike Sullivan on USA facing Canada again on Thursday in the final:
“That first game was such a good hockey game. It’s great for hockey that there’s an opportunity for these two teams to meet again. These two teams both have star power around the lineup…..It’ll be as competitive…
— Claire Hanna (@clahanna) February 18, 2025
Mike Sullivan on the rematch between the U.S. and Canada in the 4 Nations final:
“A great celebration of hockey.”
— Joshua Clipperton (@JClipperton_CP) February 18, 2025
The United States had already clinched their spot in the championship game on Saturday with a 3-1 win over Canada.
Crosby made sure his country would be playing for the 4 Nations Face-Off title thanks to his effort late in Monday night’s game, when he laid a hit on former teammate Mikael Granlund at center ice and got up in time to glove down the puck and wire it into the empty net.
After THREE unanswered by Finland, Sidney Crosby scores his first of the #4Nations Face-Off on the empty net pic.twitter.com/oKVd276P2q
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 17, 2025
Canada’s win over Finland eliminated Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson’s hopes of playing for the title with Sweden, while giving Sullivan and Penguins assistant coach David Quinn the chance to coach against Crosby for a first-place finish.
“I’m so used to having him on our bench, and I kind of like it that way. I would prefer he would be on our bench,” Sullivan said in December about facing Crosby, per Penguins team report Michelle Crechiolo. “He’s an elite player, and he’s a guy that just knows how to win. He’ll elevate his game like he always does when the stakes are high.”
Sullivan shared even more praise about Crosby when asked about the Penguins captain on Sunday, before Team USA wrapped up Round Robin play with a 2-1 loss to Sweden, per Lauren Campbell of MassLive.com:
“He’s a terrific person and a fierce competitor. And you know his 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’s going to do everything in his power to try to win.
“That that’s just the world that we live in. It doesn’t diminish for one second how I feel about Sid as a person or as a player. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him and what he’s accomplished in the game and what he represents for our sport.
“I just think he represents everything that’s right about hockey. He carries himself off the ice with such humility and grace and integrity, but yet he’s a fierce competitor and a warrior on the ice. … But when we’re on different teams as we are in this particular event, I know he’s going to do everything in his power to win is and I’m going to do the same with myself.”
Sullivan’s quick lineup changes served Team USA well early in the tournament, when mid-game adjustments including putting Matthew and Brady Tkachuk on the same line paved the way to a blowout victory over Finland last week.
But a shortened bench left Team USA one skater short of a full lineup on Monday and, proved to be too much for Sullivan against Team Sweden.
Sullivan will now have to evaluate injuries to key American players including Auston Matthews, Charlie McAvoy and the Tkachuk brothers before making any final judgements about what the team’s lines will look like against Canada.
The puck drops for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game between Canada and the United States at Boston’s TD Garden on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.