4 Nations Face-Off: Top standouts as USA beats Finland 6-1
In what started as a close game, the United States became the first team to win a 4 Nations Face-Off game in regulation after beating Finland 6-1 on Thursday night.
The win gives USA three points, one ahead of Canada after their victory over Sweden in overtime on Wednesday. Finland, meanwhile, is the only team without a point through two games, making their game against Sweden on Saturday a must-win affair.
Despite the final score, the Finns actually scored first. Defenseman Henri Jokiharju would tip Mikael Granlund’s shot at 7:31 to beat Connor Hellebuyck and take the 1-0 lead.
But three minutes later, Brady Tkachuk got the Americans back on board after outmuscling a Finnish defender. The score remained tied until the 37:04 mark, where Matt Boldy would redirect a shot from Brock Faber to make it 2-1 – a momentum-swinging moment for the previously favored American squad.
Everything fell apart for Finland almost immediately as the third period started. Matthew Tkachuk would score just 15 seconds into the frame on the man advantage, and Jake Guentzel scored just 11 seconds later to make it 4-1. Brady Tkachuk’s second goal at 43:00 ended any chance of a potential Finnish comeback, with Matthew Tkachuk adding one more for good measure.
Both teams will get Friday off before heading to their respective rivalry games in Montreal on Saturday. The Finns will take on Sweden at 1:00 PM ET, while USA will battle against Canada to take top spot in the tournament standings at 8:00 PM ET.
Here’s a look at the top performers from both teams:
Finland
#33 Nikolas Matinpalo, D (Ottawa Senators): Matinpalo entered the game with just 22 games of NHL experience – and was the last player added to the Finnish roster. So it would have been understandable if he had a rough night against a strong American attack, but Matinpalo had some tough matchups and didn’t look out of place.
#96 Mikko Rantanen, RW (Carolina Hurricanes): Rantanen didn’t get on the scoresheet but he seemed to be one of the few Finnish forwards who kept attacking all night. He got physical, had a few decent looks and rarely missed a pass. They’ll want him to take things up a notch against Sweden on Saturday, though.
USA
#7 Brady Tkachuk, LW (Ottawa Senators): Two goals in his first best-on-best game? You can’t ask for more. He has always been a stout national team performer at all different levels, but he has never played in a game like this. He scored early, led the game in hits and was easily the most dangerous player around the net. Don’t be surprised if he ends up challenging for the tournament-scoring lead.
#8 Zach Werenski, D (Columbus Blue Jackets): Werenski had two assists in this one, including the primary on the 3-1 Matthew Tkachuk goal. That was after he got moved to the top power-play unit, so clearly that was the right call from coach Mike Sullivan. Defensively, Werenski was clean, smart and dangerous and it was good to see him snag a pair of points, too.
#12 Matt Boldy, RW (Minnesota Wild): Boldy was the top scorer from the 2024 World Championship, and he continued strong here with a goal and an assist through the first 40 minutes. Boldy’s goal came off a beautiful tip, but he had to battle hard in front of the net to even make it happen. Boldy might be underrated by the average fan (compared to some of the other high-end talents in this group), but he delivered today.
#19 Matthew Tkachuk, RW (Florida Panthers): Matthew couldn’t let his brother have all the fun, right? The 2024 Stanley Cup champion was one of USA’s best players with the puck and he was rewarded with two goals and an assist. He had multiple high-end chances, and it was even fun to see him skate alongside Brady for a bit, too. Matthew said he looked at this event with the same intensity as playing for the Stanley Cup and the result definitely looked the part.
#25 Charlie McAvoy, D (Boston Bruins): McAvoy was near the top in most advanced analytical categories for the Americans today. He made some great plays to get the puck of the zone and wasn’t afraid to get physical out there when he needed to, either. He’s best when he’s playing with confidence, and he was oozing it all game long.
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