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Finland and Canada face each other on the final day of round-robin action at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Canada must beat Finland this afternoon in order to set up a rematch with the U.S. in the 4 Nations final on Thursday.
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One change to Finland's lineup for this afternoon's game: Joel Armia draws back into the forward group in place of Teuvo Teräväinen.
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Adam C: “Wow. Just a great game last night between the world's two best international squads. Hopefully Canada will beat Finland and set up a rematch on Thursday night in Boston! It should be a tremendous atmosphere and terrific hockey theater.”
Ryan R: “I don’t care what nation you support. If that game didn’t get you hyped up as all hell? Check for a pulse: you might be dead. This would be the game I show someone who’s never seen a hockey game, and they would fall in love with the sport.”
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After Saturday’s result, Canada’s likelihood of reaching the final has dropped to 71%, according to our model.
Finland are the main beneficiary of that, while Sweden’s chances of advancing are slim.
Follow the link below for our full tournament projections.
GO FURTHER
Who will win the 4 Nations Face-Off? Projections for Canada, USA, Finland and Sweden
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The Canadians had 26 shots in their 3-1 defeat by Team USA on Saturday, but not enough of high quality, especially from the top six.
Nathan MacKinnon and Mitch Marner had one shot each. Sidney Crosby had none.
“It was tough to generate offense both ways,” said Connor McDavid (three shots), after the game. “Two teams that have got a lot of respect for each other offensively, and it comes down to a shot. I think that’s the way we expected it to go.”
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Team USA, with six points, has already earned a spot in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday.
Canada will join them if they can beat Finland today in regulation time.
But Sweden would pip them to the post if they beat the U.S. and Canada can only beat Finland in overtime or shootout.
If Canada lose today they are out.
Sid was a kid the last time the Canadian men lost a hockey game of this magnitude in a best-on-best environment. The salt-and-pepper hue now running through his hair is a reminder of how much time has passed since Feb. 21, 2010.
So as Jon Cooper and Team Canada’s coaching staff start plotting where to go next in this 4 Nations Face-Off, the biggest question they’ll wrestle with is how much can be expected of Sidney Crosby.
No one would dare question the captain’s heart or commitment, not after all he’s done just to dress in these games. Crosby somehow managed three primary assists in Wednesday’s tournament opening win over Sweden despite playing with what one team official described as “one good arm.” Given that Cooper believes the 37-year-old has already chiselled his bust onto Team Canada’s Mt. Rushmore, it’s little wonder why the coach showed so much faith in him during Saturday’s 3-1 loss to Team USA.
Unfortunately, the 19 minutes he played came with much less favorable data points.
Read more from The Athletic's Chris Johnston on what Canada needs from Sidney Crosby vs. Finland below.
GO FURTHER
In must-win mode at 4 Nations Face-Off, how much can Canada expect out of Sidney Crosby?
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After the first two games of the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal, the tournament shifts to the United States. The remainder of the tournament takes place at TD Garden in Boston.
TD Garden is the home of the Boston Bruins in the NHL. For hockey games, the Garden has a capacity of 17,850.
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Finland-Canada is on TNT in the U.S. Kenny Albert (play-by-play), Eddie Olczyk (color), Brian Boucher (ice-level) and Jackie Redmond (reporter) will be on the call.
In Canada, the game is available on Sportsnet. Chris Cuthbert (play-by-play), Craig Simpson (color) and Kyle Bukauskas (reporter) will be on the call.
Puck drop of Finland-Canada is 1 p.m ET/10 a.m. PT.
In the UK, the game starts at 6 p.m.
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Greetings hockey fans! And welcome to The Athletic's live coverage of today's 4 Nations Face-Off game featuring Finland and Canada.
It's the final round-robin game for Finland and Canada respectively in this tournament. Who will come out on top as the tournament shifts to Boston?
Follow our live updates as we build up toward puck drop.
