Three storylines to watch for in Canada-U.S. matchup

It is time for the main event.

On Saturday in Montreal, Canada and the United States will renew their rivalry after winning their opening games in the 4 Nations Face-Off. The U.S. has a one-point lead over Canada in the standings by virtue of a regulation win against Finland on Thursday.  

“You can’t draw it up any better,” Canada defenceman Josh Morrissey told reporters Friday. “Saturday night (in) Montreal, U.S. (versus) Canada. It’s going to be unreal. I think everyone is absolutely jacked for it.” 

Here are three things to keep a close eye on during the much-anticipated matchup:  

McDavid’s moment  

Sidney Crosby was the story of Canada’s 4-3 overtime win against Sweden on Wednesday, recording three primary assists in his long-awaited return to international competition.

Connor McDavid had only one assist against the Swedes, but he was on another level. McDavid leads the tournament in controlled entries (11), slot-pass attempts (10) and offensive-zone possession time (1:20). He came close to scoring on multiple occasions Wednesday, and it is likely just a matter of time until he does.  

McDavid’s line with Mitch Marner and Sam Reinhart generated 61.5 per cent of the expected goals in 15:52 of even-strength ice time. On Saturday, they could see a lot of Zach Werenski and Charlie McAvoy, who matched up primarily against Finland’s first line of Artturi Lehkonen, Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Rantanen (7:46 of shared ice time). The Finns created two scoring chances when their No. 1 line was on the ice with the Americans’ top defence pair.  

Canada coach Jon Cooper told reporters this is McDavid’s “coming-out party” on the international stage. It will be difficult to contain him in such a high-stakes game. 

Good luck Tkachuks  

In search of a spark, U.S. coach Mike Sullivan called on the real-life Bash Brothers, Brady and Matthew Tkachuk. Once they joined up with Jack Eichel, the Finns had no answers.

The Tkachuks, who scored two goals apiece, and Eichel out-chanced Finland 8-1 at even strength in 5:58 of ice time. Matthew Tkachuk led all skaters with six slot shots on net. Five of those came from the inner slot — one more than the Canadian team had against Sweden. Brady Tkachuk dished out a game-high eight hits in the Americans’ 6-1 win.  

“It's annoying to face one of them in the NHL at once,” Werenski told reporters. “I can't imagine both of them.” 

The Canadians must be prepared for the Tkachuks to be even more irritating Saturday. Matthew Tkachuk said he has “thought about this game for nine years,” and Brady Tkachuk told reporters that it will be “the biggest game that I’ve ever played in my career.” 

Bennett’s impact  

Cooper confirmed he will make one change to his lineup Saturday, bringing in Sam Bennett as a way to counteract the Tkachuks’ feistiness. Bennett, who will replace Travis Konecny, will play alongside frenemy Brad Marchand and Seth Jarvis.  

“(The Tkachuks) play an old-school type of hockey,” Bennett told reporters. “They’re physical. They’re in-your-face. That’s part of their game. That’s part of what makes them really good. I expect a lot of that (Saturday), and I expect us to give it back to them.” 

Bennett’s dog-on-bone mentality has been instrumental to the Florida Panthers’ success in recent years. His 51 inner-slot shots on net this season are tied for 24th in the NHL and just two behind Matthew Tkachuk, his Panthers teammate. Bennett’s 77 puck-battle wins in the offensive zone are tied for 26th.  

Florida dumps in the puck more than any other team in the league, and Bennett is adept at turning his recoveries into offence. He is tied for second leaguewide in recoveries that have led to scoring chances for his team.

“It’ll be interesting if Sam and Matthew meet in a corner at some point,” Cooper told reporters.