4 Nations Face-Off winner between United States, Canada debated by NHL.com staff

The two best teams in the 4 Nations Face-Off will play for all the marbles in the championship game.

It's Canada and the United States at TD Garden on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+ Disney+, SN, TVA) in a winner-take-all showdown, five days after their epic round-robin game in Montreal, a 3-1 victory by the Americans.

Who will win the rematch?

That remains up in the air.

The Canadians (1-1-0-1) are getting healthy at the right time, adding all-world defenseman Cale Makar into the mix for the game agaist Finland on Monday. Plus, they've learned some valuable lessons from the loss to the United States.

The United States (2-0-0-1) face the unenviable task of defeating Canada twice in the same tournament. They will do it without defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who was ruled out for the final with an uper-body injury. Forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Auston Matthews missed the 2-1 loss to Sweden on Monday, a game in which Brady Tkachuk was injured. Each is expected to play Thursday, even if not at 100 percent.

Who will win?

It's an interesting debate, one in which the NHL.com staff who covered the tournament offer their opinions.

Canada

The United States proved it can beat Canada on Saturday, but these are two evenly matched teams. It would be difficult for either to defeat the other twice in six days. The challenge will be bigger for the U.S. with Matthew and Brady Tkachuk each banged up. Although it's hard to imagine either Tkachuk sitting out Thursday, they will likely be at less than 100 percent and they've been difference makers. Canada having Cale Makar healthy after the defenseman sat out Saturday because he was ill could swing the pendulum toward Canada this time. Similar to the 2010 Vancouver Olympics when the Americans defeated Canada in the preliminary round before Canada won the rematch in the gold-medal game, the rivals will split the two games, but Canada will win the tournament. -- Tom Gulitti, senior writer

I picked Canada before the tournament started and I'm going to stick with it. Canada's players took the loss Saturday in stride. They weren't emotional, they didn't yell and scream, but I do think it bothered them how much attention the loss got in each country. I just can't see a team with Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid losing two big games in six days. As well as the United States played Saturday, as physical as it was, it will still pretty much a one-goal game until the final seconds. It will be epic, it will be remembered for a long time, but I do think Canada will find a way. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

Forget about what you saw from Canada in the first showdown against the United States. Too individualistic at times. Not enough of a dump-and-forecheck game. Physically overpowered. You won't see that again. Lessons get learned. The Canadians know what they didn't do right the first time. They know they didn't play enough of a straight-line game. They know they didn't put enough stress on the opposition's defensemen, didn't pound them enough. It's not necessarily the Canadian way to do that. It is the American way. But lessons get learned. Canada can play that way too. It proved it can against Finland on Monday, when it was smarter with the puck, harder on it, and then its skill rose to the occasion. The Canadians will follow their captain, Sidney Crosby, to another best-on-best championship. It's what they do. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

This was my pick before the tournament, so I'm not going to change. But my opinion certainly has swung in the direction of the United States during the event. Not because of what Canada has or has not done, but because of the impressive way the Americans have played. Speed. Physicality. Such an outstanding blend of hustle and muscle. Perhaps the most convincing part of the Americans game was the way they shut down Canada in the third period Saturday. They looked like a team that had worked on a defensive system for six months, not six days. So why pick Canada? Three reasons. McDavid. Crosby. MacKinnon. Any team that beats these three guys twice in a row deserves the title. Let's see the United States do it. Until then, I'm sticking with my original pick. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

United States

It's true that Canada has a claim to hockey that the United States has never had, a way in which the sport is part of the fabric of that country. And it's true that Canada has laid claim to international results that are the envy of every other nation. But the United States has everything coming together in this tournament, the desire to make a statement, the emotional leadership of the Tkachuk brothers, and the talent that it has spent years developing at the United States National Team Development Program. And that last part is why I think they take it. Since the USNTDP was created, it has been the goal to push the country forward in international play, to get its players ready to perform on the biggest of stages, to unite them from a young age, familiarize themselves with each other. With 15 graduates (and two coaches) on this team, we're seeing what the USNTDP has worked so hard to achieve, with two straight World Juniors wins and now, I believe, the 4 Nations Face-Off title. -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer

It's hard to defeat the same team twice in less than two weeks, and this time Canada has Makar, perhaps the best defenseman in the world, after he sat out with an illness in the 3-1 loss Saturday. But I'm sticking with the pick I made entering the tournament. Why wouldn't I? The Americans showed they had the talent, depth and toughness to take on the Canadians in a hostile environment, and they seem to be on a mission to finish the job on home ice. They can go from villains to American heroes. Perhaps the most impressive thing about their win in Montreal was the way they smothered Canada's elite offensive talent, aside from one highlight-reel rush by Connor McDavid. Perhaps most important, they have the edge in goal with Connor Hellebuyck over Jordan Binnington. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Yeah, I'm going with Amalie on this. I'll go back to what I said regarding Zach Werenski being my MVP for the tournament: what the U.S. defense was able to do against Canada the first time these two met, was pretty incredible. It's not easy to stifle McDavid (OK, he scored the lone goal but of course he did), let alone Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, Mark Stone, etc. I love the defense for the United States, and I love its goaltending with Connor Hellebuyck. The Tkachuks, Jack Eichel and Jake Guentzel have reminded us that the United States has some pretty strong guys on offense, too. It's just a great combination. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Cue up "Free Bird," the goal song for the United States in this tournament because it will be playing in the American dressing room Thursday night. Each of us in this round table have made compelling arguments about who will win and why and the margins are razor thin. But, there is one place these teams are not equal and that is in goal. Connor Hellebuyck, the American goalie, has been demonstratively better than Jordan Binnington, Canada's goalie. That's huge in a winner-take-all game. It's one reason why I'm taking the Americans. The other lies in their goal song. In it, the singer laments his inability to change, but the Americans have changed. They are ready, in a way they have not been for a long time, to meet their moment, to welcome their destiny. They are ready to win on the biggest stage. And they will. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial