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NHL players have been hankering for a best-on-best tournament for nearly a decade. Their desires were finally met this year with the 4 Nations Face-Off featuring the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland. The hope was that this mini-tournament would capture the interest of the hockey-watching public in greater numbers than the league had seen from its usual All-Star Game format.
Per ESPN PR,
Fast Nationals, USA-Canada 4 Nations Face-Off averaged 4.4M viewers. pic.twitter.com/hD3MSa54M3— Jed I. Goodman © (@jedigoodman) February 17, 2025
Those modest goals have been obliterated, particularly in the United States. Hockey is often described as a regional sport in this country. It is one of the four major sports along with football, baseball and basketball, but it is clearly 4th with No. 5 soccer quickly catching up. But the high-powered matchup between the two North American rivals has captured the imagination of the American public.
The first 9 seconds of the U.S.-Canada matchup Saturday night in Montreal featured three fights with American players Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk and J.T. Miller set the sporting world on its edge. The game itself was played at an incredibly high level that saw the Americans win by a 3-1 margin.
U.S. fans are watching 4 Nations Face-Off in record numbers
American fans are no longer merely observing hockey from a distance. They are emotionally involved, rooting for a U.S. team that heard its national anthem booed at the Bell Centre. TV ratings showed an incredible burst of popularity in the NHL product that had not been seen in more than six years.
Thursday night's championship final should produce similar or even better rating numbers that saw as many as 5.2 million American viewers. The combination of superstar players like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar in the lineup for Canada and Auston Matthews and the Tkachuk brothers for the U.S. team makes the game a major event for all hockey fans, but the current political environment multiplies the overall interest dramatically.
There is a major parallel between the current 4 Nations Face-Off championship game and the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's gold medal performance.
The U.S. Olympic team featured college hockey players competing against the best players from the Soviet Union. The college players — featuring Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig and Mark Johnson — were put through rigorous training by legendary coach Herb Brooks to prepare for Olympic competition. By the time the U.S. took the ice against its biggest political rival, Americans who didn't know “a blue line from a clothes line” (thank you, Al Michaels) were rabidly supporting the U.S. team.
When Eruzione ripped home the go-ahead goal with 10 minutes to play in the third period, those fans knew they were witnessing a miracle on ice.
Politics plays a role once again
Politics has entered the fray once again. President Donald Trump's recent reference that Canada should become “America's 51st state” has raised the ire of those living north of the border. That was manifested by the booing of the Star Spangled Banner before the Saturday night US-Canada faceoff.
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The reaction of the Canadian fans intensified the competitive play of the Tkachuk brothers and the rest of the Americans when they took the ice in Montreal.
Thursday night's game is on American soil and the reaction of U.S. fans to “O Canada” is highly anticipated. Will Boston fans and other Americans in attendance boo the Canadian anthem in response, or will they listen in a more respectful manner? Will this game feature more pugilism after the opening faceoff or will the teams simply get down to the business of playing hockey?
Health will play a factor for both teams
The Canadians appear to have a physical advantage in the rematch that they didn't have in the first meeting. Makar will be playing for Canada after missing the first meeting, and he is the most gifted defenseman in the sport.
He is a brilliant skater, puck handler and shooter, and he can control the game from the blue line. The 26-year-old Colorado Avalanche superstar already deserves to be compared with all-time NHL greats like Nicklas Lidstrom, Ray Bourque and Denis Potvin. By the time his career is over, the only defenseman in league history likely to be ranked above him is the brilliant and legendary Bobby Orr.
While Makar returns, hard-hitting U.S. defenseman Charlie McAvoy is out of the game with a shoulder injury and subsequent infection to his AC joint. McAvoy provided two hard checks against McDavid and Sidney Crosby in the first meeting that underscored the U.S. defensive excellence.
Additionally, both Tkachuks and Matthews will play, but all of them are battling injuries. Those three players may not be at their physical best, but that won't keep this game from being memorable.
This 4 Nations Face-Off championship match has captured the imagination of the American public. Much like a group of college hockey players did in the Winter Olympics 45 years ago.
It should be a game for the ages.
