5 key EDGE stats for United States vs. Canada

NHL.com’s fantasy staff continues to cover the latest trends and storylines in the League through the lens of NHL EDGE puck and player tracker stats. Today, we identify the most compelling advanced metrics surrounding the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game between Canada and the United States at TD Garden on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, Disney+, SN, TVAS).

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1. Shot speed

The United States has twice as many 80-plus mile per hour shot attempts (18) compared to Canada (nine) in the 4 Nations Face-Off. U.S. forward J.T. Miller has the top shot speed of the entire tournament (98.51 mph) so far; Canada’s shot speed leader is defenseman Josh Morrissey (89.73 mph). The U.S. has three 90-plus mph shots (Miller; Zach Werenski's 91.62; Dylan Larkin's 91.24) in the tournament, while Canada has none.

2. Save percentage by shot location

Canada goalie Jordan Binnington, who has played all three games for the country, has a slightly better high-danger save percentage (.963; 26 saves on 27 shots faced) than United States goalie Connor Hellebuyck (.941 in two games; 16 saves on 17 shots faced). In their first matchup of the tournament, Canada had 11 high-danger shots on goal, compared to the United States’ seven; Binnington stopped all seven shots faced, while Hellebuyck saved 10 of 11.

But Hellebuyck has been perfect on the midrange attempts he’s seen in the tournament, stopping all eight midrange shots faced (1.000 midrange save percentage). Binnington has struggled on those attempts, allowing four goals on 13 midrange shots faced (.692 midrange save percentage).

3. Shots on goal by location

The United States has more high-danger shots on goal (30 in three games) than Canada (24 in three games) in the 4 Nations Face-Off. In terms of individual high-danger shots on goal leaders, U.S. forwards Matthew Tkachuk (seven in two games) and Jake Guentzel (six in three games) rank first and second, respectively; Canada’s leaders in the category, Nathan MacKinnon, Mark Stone and Brayden Point, have four high-danger SOG each. Connor McDavid leads the entire tournament in midrange shots on goal (five).

4. High-danger goals

Canada’s MacKinnon is the only player in the 4 Nations Face-Off to score multiple high-danger goals (two). Other players who will take part in the championship game who have scored a high-danger goal in the tournament include the Matt Boldy, Matthew and Brady Tkachuk of the United States, as well as Canada’s McDavid, Point and Brad Marchand.

5. Speed

Canada’s McDavid has the highest max skating speed (23.12 mph) among players who will take part in the championship game, while the United States’ Jack Eichel is second among such players in the category (22.82 mph). Canada has 112 speed bursts of at least 20 mph in the 4 Nations Face-Off, compared to 92 for the United States.

Canada has three of the top four individual skaters in terms of 20-plus mph speed bursts: McDavid (23; first), MacKinnon (19; second) and Point (16; fourth), while Eichel leads the U.S. (18; third). In their first matchup of the tournament, Canada had 43 such speed bursts, compared to 28 for the U.S.

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More: EDGE stats leaders in 4 Nations Face-Off