MONTREAL — Matthew Tkachuk put it best in his postgame interview with Sportsnet on Thursday night, when the Panthers star said he’s been waiting for Saturday’s match against Canada “for nine years.”
So has the rest of the hockey world.
There is more than just a big-game feel for the renewal of hostilities between the U.S. and Canada on Bell Centre ice in prime time on Saturday. There is a Game 7 feel, a Stanley Cup feel, an event-of-the-year feel.
Nothing is bigger than Team USA and Canada in a best-on-best tournament, and it’s been nearly a decade since we last saw it.
The Post’s Ethan Sears breaks down the matchups.
Goaltending
Canada coach Jon Cooper declined to name his starter on Friday, saying he had yet to inform the goalies. There was no need to ask Team USA’s Mike Sullivan the same question.
The nature of a best-on-best tournament is such that every player on the ice is capable. But whether Cooper goes with Jordan Binnington for a second straight game or turns to Adin Hill, Team USA has the upper hand in nets with two-time Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck.
Edge: Team USA
Defense
Neither team’s blue line looks the same as envisioned prior to the tournament. Team USA is without Quinn Hughes, who pulled out late due to injury, and switched its pairs midway through Thursday’s win over Finland, moving Adam Fox alongside Noah Hanifin and Jaccob Slavin with Brock Faber.
Canada, though, is near an out-and-out crisis after Shea Theodore suffered a tournament-ending injury in its win over Sweden and top D-man Cale Makar missed Friday’s practice with illness. Cooper said he was confident Makar would play Saturday, but Thomas Harley — who did not make the original roster and thus is not allowed to practice or skate with the team — is on standby to join in case Canada goes down to five defensemen. Travis Sanheim will draw in for Theodore.
Edge: Team USA
Forwards
Putting Brady and Matthew Tkachuk on either side of Jack Eichel was an inspired — and possibly game-saving — choice from Sullivan on Thursday, but that being arguably Team USA’s best trio underscores the stylistic clash here.
Canada has a clear and obvious advantage in terms of skill, with the likes of Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid making up half its top six, whereas the Americans will try to play a more physical game. That’s not to say Team USA doesn’t have skill or Team Canada can’t handle physicality — this is best-on-best and everyone can do everything — just that there is a difference in how each team will try and set the tone.
It’s hard to look at these forward groups, and how they played in each team’s respective opener, and not conclude Canada has an advantage, however slight. The top-end talent is as good as it gets, and frankly showed up to a greater degree against Sweden than the Jake Guentzel, Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes line did against Finland.
Edge: Team Canada
Special Teams
If there’s a clear and obvious advantage for Team USA in terms of goaltending, then this is Canada’s answer.
The Canadian top power-play unit of Makar, Crosby, McDavid, MacKinnon and Sam Reinhart is laughably talented and proved it can translate to the ice by scoring almost immediately on Canada’s only power play of the game against Sweden. The main question there is whether any referee will give Canada a call given the sort of advantage their power play has.
As for Team USA, Matthew Tkachuk scored a pair of power-play goals against Finland, but one was a harmless-looking shot that Juuse Saros should have stopped and the other was in garbage time. There were moments over 5:18 of power-play time where the units struggled to get set up, and while Sullivan can deploy two heavily talented groups on the man advantage, neither compares to what Canada has.
Edge: Team Canada
Coaching
Sullivan has two Stanley Cup titles, and so does Cooper. Both have one assistant coach who’s won a Cup (John Tortorella for the U.S., Bruce Cassidy for Canada) and staffs packed with familiar names. Picking one over the other here is silly.
Edge: Even
Prediction
Canada’s top-end talent and the home crowd give them a tightly fought win.
Canada 4, USA 2
