Colorado Avalanche stars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar headline a stacked Team Canada lineup that will face an equally loaded Team USA squad at the 4 Nations Face-Off final at the TD Garden in Boston on Thursday night.
MacKinnon is coming off an impressive two-goal performance against Team Finland in Canada’s final round-robin matchup. The Canadians, in a do-or-die situation, pulled off a solid 5-3 win last Monday afternoon.
Now, Nathan MacKinnon hopes to be a difference-maker on the ice as Team Canada goes up against Connor Hellebuyck. Hellebuyck has had MacKinnon’s number all year, shutting out the Avalanche twice. At the 4 Nations, Hellebuyck has been especially stingy, keeping the powerful Team Canada lineup to just one goal in a 3-1 loss last Saturday night.
With a win, Team Canada will earn the bragging rights that come with winning the first best-on-best international tourney since the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, Russia. For their part, the Americans also seek the same bragging rights, marking a major milestone for American international hockey.
Team Canada coach Jon Cooper shuffled his lines somewhat at Wednesday’s practice, placing MacKinnon with captain Sidney Crosby and Sam Reinhart. Moving Reinhart to MacKinnon’s right wing is actually a good move as Reinhart is a pure goalscorer. As such, Reinhart makes this line even deadlier as two elite playmakers in MacKinnon and Crosby will have a high-end scorer to target.
Makar set to play in 4 Nations Final alongside Colorado Avalanche teammate
Cale Makar will slot alongside Colorado Avalanche teammate Devon Toews against Team USA in the 4 Nations Final. Coach Cooper spoke to the media on Tuesday, stating that he did not see any reason why Makar wouldn’t play on Thursday night.
Makar missed the previous Canada vs USA matchup with an undisclosed illness. He was back in the lineup for Canada’s win over Finland. Whatever Makar’s ailment was, it seems that’s behind him. That’s good news for Team Canada as they’ll need every bit of offense they can get against Connor Hellebuyck.
Most importantly, it’s also good news for Avalanche fans as Makar’s participation means he’ll be set to go once the Avs hit the ice again on Saturday night.
Makar has 63 points in 57 games this season and seems to be on track for a 100-point season. If that’s the case, Makar could lock up his second Norris Trophy this season to go with a potential 4 Nations Face-Off title.
Of course, the only thing better than a Norris Trophy and the 4 Nations title is a Stanley Cup. With about a third of the regular season left to go, the remaining games will serve to judge who the Avalanche will face in the first round of this year’s playoffs.
In the meantime, a win over Team USA on Thursday night would be a great way to cap off what has been a better-than-expected 4 Nations tourney.