The Round Robin portion of the 4 Nations Face-Off is in the books and when the dust settled, it should come as no surprise that Team USA and Canada will battle for the championship on Thursday night at the TD Garden in Boston.
Three members of the Boston Bruins will be trying to capture the tournament for their country with Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman playing for Team USA and captain Brad Marchand playing for Canada. As far as McAvoy goes, he missed Team USA's final round-robin game on Monday against Sweden with what was reported as an upper-body injury, leaving his status for Thursday in doubt.
Marchand will suit up for Canada in his home arena while Swayman will watch as Connor Hellebuyck starts between the pipes for Team USA. Regardless of who wins the game, one thing is for sure, McAvoy and Marchand have left positive impressions on their teammates for the last week.
Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand draw big-time praise from 4 Nations Face-Off teammates
McAvoy was Team USA's best defenseman against Canada on Saturday night and it's easy to see why he's respected by his teammates. One of them is Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews.
"He is such a big factor for us on the back end," said Matthews. "Just the way he plays, his physicality and everything. I thought the other night he was great for us. He made a big impact physically, and a guy that when he's out there, you have to be aware of when you're going up against him.''
His physicality was on full display against Canada when he delivered a heavy hit on Connor McDavid which led to a game-tying goal seconds later. Matthews, who was scratched late against Sweden, knows how good McAvoy is as the Bruins and Maple Leafs play four times a year as Atlantic Division rivals.
As for Marchand, he is one of those players you hate to play against, but love him when he's on your team. Canada defenseman Cale Makar, one of the best young blueliners in the NHL, likes a lot of things about Marchand.
“He’s awesome. I love his character,'' said Makar. "He’s great around the room—he keeps it light and then he also knows what to say at a certain time. He’s definitely a leader and the B’s got a good one.''”
It remains to be seen how much longer Boston has a good one as once the NHL season resumes, all eyes will turn to the trade deadline on March 7. Depending on how the Bruins fare before that day will determine their path and whether or not they move Marchand as part of what is expected to be a retool by the front office.