The marquee matchup between Workforce USA and Workforce Canada lived as much as all of the hype — after which some.
From the second the puck dropped, the electrical energy fashioned within the form of three fights in 9 seconds.
And that was just the start. There was a lot extra to the epic tilt that noticed Workforce USA skate away with a 3-1 victory. It was the USA’s first win in opposition to Canada in a best-on-best competitors since Feb. 21, 2010, within the Vancouver Olympics preliminary spherical.
With the win, Workforce USA clinched a spot within the championship sport Thursday night time at TD Backyard in Boston.
Listed here are 4 knee-jerk reactions from the epic showdown:
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The Tkachuks Set Tone
Matthew Tkachuk could also be a Boston Bruins villain, however the proficient ahead is certainly an American treasure.
After notching 5 factors in Workforce USA’s 6-1 win over Finland on Thursday night time, Tkachuk and his youthful brother Brady set the tone by dropping the gloves with Brandon Hagel and Sam Bennett, respectively, within the first three seconds of the sport.
Together with five-for-fighting, Brady Tkachuk led Workforce USA with 5 hits within the first 40 minutes of the sport, together with an absolute trucking of Drew Doughty alongside the boards behind Connor Hellebuyck’s web.
Matthew Tkachuk performed solely three shifts within the third interval for a complete of 1:13 ice time within the remaining body with an undisclosed harm. USA head coach Mike Sullivan can sit Tkachuck in opposition to Sweden on Monday along with his workforce already assured a spot within the championship sport.
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Connor McDavid Reveals Elite Expertise
After being held to 1 help in Canada’s opening night time extra time win in opposition to Sweden, McDavid confirmed why he’s the finest participant on the planet.
Doughty despatched McDavid into the offensive zone, and the Oilers star skated previous Zach Werenski and Charlie McAvoy to beat Hellebuyck to open the scoring and provides Canada an early 1-0 lead.
Sadly for Canada, the prolific objective scorer, together with different stars Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, couldn’t get one other objective previous Hellebuyck.
Charlie McAvoy Took McDavid’s Tally Personally
The Bruins defenseman received schooled by McDavid, and McAvoy appeared to take it personally.
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McAvoy made positive the subsequent time McDavid carried the puck into the offensive zone, he can be there ready — and he made McDavid pay.
After McDavid received previous Workforce USA captain Auston Matthews, McAvoy completely leveled the Canadian ahead.
Connor Hellebuyck Was Excellent
The Winnipeg Jets goaltender confirmed why he’s main the NHL with a .925 save proportion and a 2.06 goals-against common.
Apart from permitting McDavid’s first-period objective, which even Martin Brodeur or Patrick Roy wouldn’t have stopped, Hellebuyck was good, turning apart the opposite 24 Workforce Canada pictures.
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Hellebuyck is 11-1-0, with two shutouts, whereas representing Workforce USA. He has posted a 1.50 goals-against common and a .942 save proportion throughout these 12 video games.
After Workforce USA’s win, Canada, Finland and Sweden all have two factors within the round-robin match. Canada must defeat Finland in regulation on Monday to earn a rematch with the USA within the championship sport.
The match shifts to TD Backyard on Monday, with Canada-Finland slated for a 1 p.m. ET puck drop, adopted by USA-Sweden at 8. Each video games will air on TNT.
