In the 4 Nations showdown, the first best on best tournament since 2016 World Cup in Toronto, the Americans have the talent and depth to compete with Canadians.
And they showed it on Saturday in the hostile environment of Montreal.
“Obviously you’re looking at the final game, strength,” said Canadian captain Sidney Crosby. “Both teams got to get to know each other pretty quickly. Yeah, that’s going to be a big challenge.”
The Americans didn’t just fight on Saturday. They delivered a big hit. After falling behind at 1-0, they returned to take a 2-1 lead, suffocating the Canadian attack before symbolizing the ice with the Netter in the sky. The shot was Canada’s 26-23.
“I think they’re very dangerous,” said Canadian centre Nathan McKinnon. “We didn’t make much progress on either team. We gave them the couple’s looks. They have so much talent to score. The best players in the league share the same ice. “We’re and the shot is like 20-20, so it shows how tight and checking everyone right now.”
McKinnon said the Canadians are ready for a rematch.
“I want to play again,” he said. “We feel we can beat those guys and we’re going to play a little better on Thursday.”
Cooper said Canadians managed the pack better against Finland on Monday. They helped to have Cale Makar, one of the best defenders in the world, sat sick against the US on Saturday.
“The United States is such a skilled team,” McCar said. “Especially in that game (Saturday), they supported each other very well on the ice, then they managed to break us in the neutral zone and then rush a few strange guys. They were me It’s a small thing that they probably have to clean up.”
Finnish coach Antti Penanen was asked to be the key to the championship game. He might have thought he was being asked to be a favorite. He said that it’s difficult to say because both teams are very good.
“I don’t know,” he said. “Maybe it’s America.”
Is Canada the weak? Are Canadians motivated by rematches? Cooper revealed that despite their opponents adding drama, they feel confident and want to beat them.
“We came here for this purpose, and now we’re going to win another game,” he said. “It’s supposed to be a pretty good event for TV because it happened to be against the team that beat us after the fireworks that left on Saturday night.”
