4 Nations was AWESOME! The 4 Nations Face-Off, which was the NHL' s answer for all sports with declining interest in ALL-Star games was great from the beginning as the best of the NHL filled rosters of four teams based on a player's country of origin. Sweden, Finland, Canada and the USA were all represented in a round-robin tournament.
The buzz and excitement around the world increased with each game. But I think support for this tournament reached a fever pitch last Saturday when USA beat Canada 3-1. But the story of that game preceded the opening face off with political talk involving Canada becoming the 51st state and trade tarrifs between the two countries. The American National Anthem had been boo'd in recent weeks at NHL games north of the boarder. The Canadian Anthem was getting boo'd in America. Anthem booing continued into last Saturday's contest in Montreal.
That was the final fuse. Canada and USA players fought three times in the game's first :09 seconds.
Fast forward to Thursday night for the championship game in Boston in a Canadian-American rematch. Yes, Canada's Anthem received boo's. And then we watched a game that had the feel of an Olympic-Stanley Cup hybrid! 4 Nations was awesome!
4 NATIONS WAS AWESOME!
On top of everything else the game went into overtime. Despite USA playing with an edge, Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington was unbelievable in net and Connor McDavid scored the winning goal for Canada. In Olympic fashion the players received medals and the Canadian Anthem played again... this time with no boos! Then, in Stanley Cup fashion, each player hoisted the sizable trophy into the air.
Sure it was a bummer for Team USA to lose. But the NHL struck gold with this All-Star event. 4 Nations was awesome! For more hockey talk and analysis tune in each weekday from 2-6pm to Craig Shemon and Company on ESPN Southwest Florida.
