Fly high, free bird: Keys to Team USA’s statement win over Canada, plus grades, lingering questions
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Ryan S. Clark
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Greg Wyshynski
A game that began with three fights in nine seconds resulted in some of the best hockey on display in recent memory. The result: a 3-1 win for the United States over Canada, much to the dismay of a majority of the fans at Bell Centre in Montreal.
The win in regulation gives Team USA six points, and clinches a spot in the championship game on Thursday. Each other team has two points, so Monday’s matchups will determine who they will face for the title:
Here are grades for both teams, our biggest takeaways, key players to watch for the next game as well as lingering questions.
Grading the teams
United States: A
Team USA’s opening win over Finland was the kind of emphatic, confidence-building victory they needed before facing their archrivals. But it was also important for proof of concept about this roster. It established two scoring lines, anchored by Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel. It showed star players on their NHL teams could adapt to becoming role players on the national team — players like Dylan Larkin, who scored a critical goal against Canada. It was a win that showed the Americans poised and in control of their emotions.
Everything they exhibited in that Finland win informed this effort against Canada, underscored by a strong performance by Connor Hellebuyck in goal. It was a victory in the most hostile of environments for the Americans, a total team effort in a cyclone of emotions.
The Canadians will caveat this by noting the absence of Cale Makar — the U.S. of course is missing Quinn Hughes for the entirety of the tournament due to injury — and that the game’s importance was diminished after Sweden’s overtime loss to Finland. The Americans will certainly take that under advisory as they travel back home celebrating this epic win, clinching a spot in the championship game next Thursday in Boston and ending Canada’s 17-game “best-on-best” tournament winning streak, per ESPN Research. — Greg Wyshynski
Canada: B-
Maybe placing such a high emphasis on a single play could be considered unfair when it comes to Canada’s overall performance. But in a game between the two most talented teams in the tournament, there was going to be little separation.
The Americans found that separation in the second period with Matt Boldy breaking up a Sidney Crosby cross-ice pass that was further compounded by a line change. That saw an odd-skater rush in the other direction, with Dylan Larkin firing a shot for what proved to be the game-winning goal in just the second period.
Mistakes often have the potential to prove costly, with the notion that miscues are further amplified by facing the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in Connor Hellebuyck, who could win the award again this season. Even with the copious high-danger scoring chances Canada created later in the game, it wasn’t enough to overcome the mistake that led to America’s game-winning goal. — Ryan S. Clark
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Dylan Larkin delivers the go-ahead goal for Team USA in second period
Dylan Larkin takes advantage of a 2-on-1 situation for Team USA and buries the puck to give his team the lead.
What we learned
Hellebuyck answers the critics
Connor Hellebuyck is considered the best goaltender in the world, having won the Vezina Trophy last season, and is the favorite to win it again for the Winnipeg Jets this season. But the 31-year-old American has his detractors, who point to his lack of success when it matters most: In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he has a 33-49 career record and back-to-back first-round exits with a save percentage under .890.
While some felt the goal he surrendered against Finland was specious, he was solid the rest of the way. Against Canada, he gave a goal to Connor McDavid on the rush — what NHL goalie hasn’t? — but was a formidable last line of defense the rest of the way with 20 saves, coming up some big stops in the third period.
Hellebuyck was one of the players in this tournament who needed a strong showing, for his confidence and to cement himself as the starter for the 2026 Winter Olympics ahead of a very crowded field. So far, he’s making a statement. — Wyshynski
Canada found countermeasures but still missed Cale Makar
Even with Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley on stand by, there were questions that Canada needed to answer when it came to how it would effectively replace one of the game’s best defensemen. Makar finished with a little more than 28 minutes of ice time in Canada’s overtime win against Sweden. It was the most of any skater for either team.
Makar’s absence went beyond his ice time. It meant having to find someone who could operate on the first-team power-play and penalty-killing units. Canada turned to Josh Morrissey to operate in Makar’s place on the power play, only to finish 0-for-2. As for Harley, he would finish with two shots in 18:47 of ice time. It’s not overstating it to say Canada needs Makar back for Monday’s game against Finland. — Clark
Historic, chaotic start
Maybe it was the emotions of the rivalry manifesting in the only way they could have. Maybe it was Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk seeing Brandon Hagel, an NHL rival with the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the starting lineup and finding himself unable to do anything but drop the gloves — which was brother Brady Tkachuk‘s theory. Maybe it was the Tkachuk brothers honoring their dad Keith, who held a share of the record for earliest fight in an NHL international game at 20 seconds during the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
That’s a record that fights by the Tkachuks and J.T. Miller against Hagel, Sam Bennett and Colton Parayko shattered. Whatever motivated three fights in the first nine seconds of the USA vs. Canada showdown, it turned a rivalry hockey game in a round-robin tournament into a cultural moment on Saturday night. People who don’t talk about hockey were talking about hockey, which is what the NHL wanted out of this tournament — even if the catalyst for that spike in interest was something no one could have predicted.
The best rivalry in hockey, USA vs. Canada, just got better, with a return game potentially on tap next week. — Wyshynski
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USA, Canada fight 3 times in the first 9 seconds of game
Three players each from USA and Canada are penalized for three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.
Where were the individual displays for Canada when it needed goals?
Looking ahead to this game, it was a hearty debate over which side was more talented. The way Connor McDavid found space and burst past Charlie McAvoy for the game’s first goal is arguably the strongest example that those on the Canadian side were right.
But outside of that lone moment? Many of Canada’s stars struggled to find the necessary openings that would allow them to utilize their talent. Perhaps the most evident example came in the third period, when reigning Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon used his speed on a zone entry only to re-think his approach once Jaccob Slavin arrived to take away what appeared to be a path toward the net.
Much of the frustration had to do with the Americans relying on a tight structure, which made finding those opportunities difficult until later in the third period. It amounted to Canada ending the night with 12 high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. That’s more than the 10 high-danger chances it mustered against Sweden — but with fewer goals to show for it. — Clark
Players to watch
What a tournament for the Lightning winger. He had a goal and an assist against Finland and then followed that with two goals — including an empty-netter — against Canada.
Guentzel has always had the reputation of rising to the occasion as a Stanley Cup Playoff performer with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. He’s the leader for tournament MVP. — Wyshynski
Part of what made Canada one of the initial favorites to win was the squad’s scoring depth. That includes Reinhart. Since the 2022-23 season, only five players have scored more NHL goals than Reinhart, who is on pace to finish with more than 40 for a second straight campaign.
But against the U.S., he finished with zero goals on no shots, in the wake of a performance against Sweden in which he scored zero goals on three shots. — Clark
Big questions for the next game
How do they approach a (potentially) meaningless game?
The Americans are in the championship game next Thursday. That they know. Who their opponents are is a mystery.
Canada’s game against Finland on Monday afternoon will determine if they’ve punched their ticket for a rematch, or if the U.S. game against Sweden carries any import. Do the Americans play another goalie in the game to give Hellebuyck a rest? Does Matthew Tkachuk heal up whatever was ailing him in the Canada game, to give Chris Kreider his 4 Nations debut?
All in all, these are good problems to have for the tournament leading Team USA. — Wyshynski
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Charlie McAvoy rocks Connor McDavid with nasty hit on the boards
Charlie McAvoy delivers a punishing hit to Connor McDavid that everyone can hear in the first period.
Can the space that eluded Canada against the U.S. be found against Finland?
Much of what allowed the United States to have success against Canada was its ability to take away time and space, while also blocking shots and using a physical style — finishing with 30 hits. Could Finland look to employ a similar strategy Monday when it faces Canada for a championship game berth on the line?
Finland overcame giving up six goals in its first game to the U.S. by making it difficult for Sweden to find chances of any kind by taking away space. It’s one of the major reasons why Sweden finished with only two-high danger chances. If Finland employs a similar system Monday, what adjustments does Canada have to make to force a rematch with the U.S. — and avoid an earlier-than-expected exit? — Clark
LAS COLINAS, Texas — Ohio State athletic director Ross Bjork told leaders of the College Football Playoff on Tuesday that the sport’s calendar needs to change, and it’s a critical component as they consider the playoff’s future format.
Bjork, just months removed from watching his Buckeyes win the national title, attended a portion of the annual CFP spring meetings to provide feedback with the three other athletic directors who participated in semifinals and hosted first-round games: Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte, Penn State athletic director Pat Kraft and Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua, who is part of the CFP’s management committee along with the 10 FBS commissioners.
Bjork said CFP executive director Rich Clark asked if he had one major point he wanted to make before leaving.
“We’ve had so many disruptions over the last five-plus years that I think the time is now to not be reactive, be proactive,” Bjork told ESPN. “When we had this setting here with the commissioners, our job was to provide feedback on what was it like to go through the 12-team playoff … but it all gets impacted by the calendar. I felt it was important to lay that out with everyone in the room to say, separate from the CFP process, if we don’t fix our calendar as an industry, then we’re going to continue to have unintended consequences.”
Bjork shared with the commissioners the perspective of a school trying to win a national title while classes had begun Jan. 6. Ohio State’s academic advisers traveled with the team to the semifinal and national title game, he said, but some athletes missed class and the school had to apply for waivers around the countable athletically related activities, which limits schools to 20 hours of practice time while classes are in session.
“When you don’t have class, there is no limit to CARA hours,” he said, noting that Texas started classes later. “It created some disadvantages. It all goes back to what’s countable CARA hours, NCAA structure. The portal is the next big conversation after the House case and truly what kind of rules can we set? Will we have the authority around transfer rules to set some parameters?”
Bjork said the transfer portal needs to move to a 10-day period in May for fall sports because if the NCAA House settlement is approved, most of the players are going to be signing revenue share agreements with the schools from July 1 to June 30.
“May makes the most sense” to align player contracts with the portal, Bjork said.
Bjork, who said he’s on the implementation committee for the House settlement, said “if everyone follows the structure, it’s going to be a great structure.”
“And everyone has to follow the rules,” he said, “and agree that this is the structure, which we have to. If we don’t do that, then what good is the settlement?”
CLEVELAND — Guardians center fielder Lane Thomas was placed on the 10-day injured list Tuesday with a bruised right wrist sustained when he got hit by a pitch two weeks ago.
The move is retroactive to April 20.
Thomas, who was a postseason star for Cleveland in 2024, was struck on the wrist in the home opener against the Chicago White Sox on April 8. He has played in five games since, including Sunday at Pittsburgh.
Thomas said his wrist initially responded to treatment, but it began troubling him after he played over the weekend.
“I got that first jam shot base hit when I played that first day and it just kind of swelled up after that,” Thomas said. “I kind of lost some range of motion, so they just thought the best option was to try and get all that out of there and not go through that same cycle again.”
Manager Stephen Vogt hopes putting Thomas on the IL will give him time to let the injury heal correctly.
“Let’s take eight to 10 days, knock this thing out so that it’s behind us for the rest of the year,” Vogt said. “Out of fairness for him to be able to be himself and not wonder how’s it going to feel today when I wake up. We decided that with Lane, that this was the best course of action.”
Thomas has twice broken the same wrist after being hit by pitches. He went 2 for 15 with five strikeouts in five games after getting hit.
The Guardians acquired Thomas, 29, in a July trade with Washington. He struggled for much of the regular season before having his biggest moments with Cleveland in October.
Thomas hit two homers in the AL Division Series against Detroit, connecting for a grand slam in Game 5 off Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal to help the Guardians advance.
To replace Thomas, the club selected the contract of infielder Will Wilson from Triple-A Columbus. The Guardians also transferred right-hander Trevor Stephan, who is recovering from Tommy John surgery, to the 60-day injured list.
Wilson was batting .324 for the Columbus Clippers with six homers and 18 RBIs in 18 games. He homered in three of his past four games.
This is the 26-year-old’s first promotion to the majors. He’s a former first-round pick of the Los Angeles Angels, who traded him to San Francisco in 2019. Cleveland acquired Wilson in the minor league portion of the Rule 5 draft this past offseason.
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