Pride is on the line on both sides.
And for many of the Canadian and American players who will face off in Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off final, it’ll be the biggest game yet of their careers.
Connor McDavid expects the Canada-United States showdown to be at least on the level of a Game 7 of a Stanley Cup final, something he and his National Hockey League club experienced just eight months ago.
The Edmonton Oilers star said he was “obviously extremely disappointed” to lose the first 4 Nations showdown to the U.S. on Saturday in Montreal as the tournament is on “the biggest stage in hockey” that will conclude with Thursday’s rematch in Boston, this time for the title.
“No matter (if it’s the) Olympic gold medal, this game tomorrow, whatever it is, I feel like Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final is as big a game as you’re ever going to play in your whole life, so it’s good to be able to draw that experience,” McDavid told media after Canadian practice on Tuesday.
“Playing the big games is something that I love to do (and) everyone loves to do. Tomorrow’s a big game.”
Same goes for his U.S. rivals, including key cog Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers, the NHL team that beat McDavid and the Oilers to capture the Cup in June.
“I think that the country’s seeing how much pride this team takes in being Americans and representing this country, and it’s pretty much everybody’s first time wearing the U.S.A. crest,” Tkachuk said, referencing the fact that the 4 Nations tourney has been the first chance for many of the current generation of the NHL’s elite to play in a best-on-best series.
“I think that, in itself, it just takes over you. The pride that we have is obviously through the roof, and then you throw in that jersey and you almost can’t control yourself, how excited you are and the feelings you get.”
McDavid scored the opening goal in Saturday’s game, leading to an eruption of cheers at Montreal’s Bell Centre – and in living rooms and bars across Canada – before the U.S. replied three times in a game considered one of the best international matches ever played.
U.S. forward Vincent Trocheck called Saturday’s game in Montreal “the best game I’ve ever been a part of.”
“Just being here in general is obviously a huge honour,” the New York Rangers centre said Wednesday.
“To be able to play for your country and to be able to play against Canada in the final game is just something that everybody in (the U.S. dressing room) dreams of as a kid.”
Auston Matthews, captain of the U.S., calls being on the team “an honour.”
“Every guy in this room obviously cares, and they care about playing for their country, and how much pride and honor that goes into wearing the U.S.A. sweater,” Matthews said.
Veteran Brad Marchand, at 36 one of Team Canada’s elder statesmen along with 37-year-old teammate-in-red Sidney Crosby, said Thursday’s showdown should prove to become a landmark moment for hockey fans everywhere.
“This will be another memory, another core memory for a lot of a lot of kids growing up, a lot of hockey fans for both American and Canadian players, and probably kids all across the world,” said Marchand, who’ll be in familiar-yet-uncharted territory skating on what’s usually his home ice as a member of the NHL’s Boston Bruins.
“It’s a gift and a privilege to play in these games, and definitely one you don’t take for granted.”
Crosby, Canada’s captain and the longtime Pittsburgh Penguins star considered by many the face of the NHL before McDavid came into the league in 2015, called this year’s experience playing alongside this generation’s top Canadian talents “special.”
“People have seen some great hockey; they’ve seen some intense games and guys that really care and appreciate the opportunity to play for their country,” said Crosby, who led the Canadian charge in the last two Winter Olympics in which NHL players took part – 2010 and 2014 – and was lionized for scoring the ‘Golden Goal’ to win the Vancouver Games in ’10.
“With all that said, to have this opportunity to play in the finals, it’s something that’s special, and to build something in a short period of time with your group, you want to find a way to win.”
