Canada is off to the 4 Nations Face-Off final. An old — and familiar foe — waits on deck.
Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon scored 46 seconds apart in the first period, and Canada held on late to beat Finland 5-3 on Monday afternoon to set up a mouth-watering title game later this week against the United States.
Brayden Point also scored in the opening 20 minutes before MacKinnon added another five minutes into the second. Sidney Crosby scored into an empty net after Finns scored three times in the third. Jordan Binnington made 23 saves.
McDavid and Crosby chipped in an assist each for two-point performances. Canadian No. 1 defenceman Cale Makar returned to the lineup after a one-game absence due to illness. Sam Reinhart added three assists.
Mikael Granlund, with two, and Esa Lindell replied for Finland. Kevin Lankinen allowed four goals on 13 shots before getting the hook. Juuse Saros finished with 14 saves.
The U.S. faced Sweden later Monday in a game that didn't matter in the standings following Canada's regulation victory. The Americans beat their northern neighbour 3-1 in Montreal on Saturday in a physical affair, accented by a frenetic start that saw three fights inside the first nine seconds, on the way to clinching a berth in Thursday's final.
The 4 Nations represents NHL's players' return to high-level international competition and is a significant signpost ahead of a return to the Winter Olympics next year. The NHL went to five straight Games from 1998 to 2014 before passing on 2018 for financial reasons. COVID-19 concerns then scuttled plans in 2022.
The Canadian national anthem was booed by pockets of fans at TD Garden before Monday's puck drop — apparent payback for the jeering of "The Star-Spangled Banner" earlier in the tournament at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Fans across Canada have booed the U.S. anthem at NHL and NBA games since President Donald Trump threatened tariffs and said he wanted to make one of the country's closest allies its 51st state.
McDavid opened Monday's scoring at 4:13 of the first off a brutal Roope Hintz turnover. The Edmonton Oilers superstar centre intercepted a blind clearing attempt, wheeled around the offensive zone and fired a shot in off Lankinen's far post.
MacKinnon made it 2-0 at 4:59 on a drive to the net before Point potted a rebound at 13:02.
Lankinen's day was done at 5:03 of the second when MacKinnon buried his second off a pass from Crosby.
Binnington made his third straight start despite not being happy with the two goals — the third was into the empty net — he allowed to the U.S. on Saturday.
The netminder had to be sharp later in the second when Travis Konecny turned the puck over in the defensive zone and Erik Haula had a good chance in tight before the Finns had a couple of other good chances to get on the board.
Lindell broke the shutout bid at 13:19 of the third. Granlund scored twice late to make for a nervous final minute before Crosby iced it into the empty net.
BACK TO BINNER
Canadian head coach Jon Cooper said pre-game it was an easy decision to start Binnington instead of Adin Hill against Finland.
"The kid's played great for us," Cooper said of the St. Louis Blues goaltender. "He's given us a chance to win. If you can limit an opponent to two goals or less in a game it should give you a chance to win.
"He did that for us the other night. It was lack of goal scoring that hurt us."
BACK IN RED
Makar returned after missing the U.S. loss despite skating Saturday morning.
The Canadians were permitted to bring alternate Thomas Harley into its camp to play against the Americans after Shea Theodore's upper-body in the opener and Makar's absence left them with just five available blueliners from the original 23-man roster.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 17, 2025.
