This year, the National Hockey League (NHL) has decided to replace the All Star Game with a brand new tournament known as the 4 Nations Face-Off to fill the player’s all star break. NHL players who were either born in or grew up in the USA, Canada, Sweden or Finland competed in a round robin tournament to represent their nation.
The federations for each respective team selected exactly 23 players to fill their roster, consisting of 13 forwards, seven defensemen and three goalies. Furthermore, the tournament was played with a round-robin system. This means each nation played three regular games against every other nation and the two teams with the best record went to the championship.
The USA and Canada had two wins and one loss, while Sweden and Finland finished with one win and two losses. USA won both of their first two games against Finland (6-1) and then Canada (3-1) thus clinching a spot in the championship. Furthermore, in their game against Canada, three fights broke out within the first nine seconds of play. However, in their last game, the USA lost to Sweden 2-1 in a game. This did not affect the U.S’s standings due to already solidifying a spot in the championship and Sweden already being eliminated from the championship contention. Canada defeated Sweden 4-3, followed by a loss to USA 3-1 and then beat Finland 5-3 in a game where the winner goes to the championship, thus solidifying their spot in the championship. Lastly, Finland lost to the USA 6-1, then beat Sweden 4-3 before losing to Canada 5-3. Sweden lost to Canada and Finland 4-3 in both of their first two games, resulting in their elimination from playoff contention. Despite this, they were able to beat the USA in their last game 2-1.
In the championship game, Canada’s center, Nathan MacKinnon scored the first goal with 15:12 left in the first period, but the USA’s wing Brady Tkachuk answered to make the score 1-1 with 3:09 remaining before going into the first intermission. About halfway through the second period, USA’s defenseman, Jake Sanderson scored a goal with 12:28 left in the second period to take the lead 2-1 before Canada’s center, Sam Bennett quickly answered with six minutes left in the second period, tying the game up at 2-2. The score remained 2-2 for the rest of regulation. In overtime, Canada’s top center, Connor McDavid was able to break free in the slot with no one but the goalie in front of him. McDavid was able to score on this breakaway giving Canada the victory over the US.
This new alternative for the NHL’s all star break proved to be a success with each round-robin game wracking in an average of 6.5 million viewers. The final game of the tournament brought in 16.1 million viewers in North America, with 9.3 million viewers in the United States and 6.3 million in Canada. The game was the second most watched NHL game in the last decade behind game seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup between the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers. It was also the most watched non-NFL game ever on ESPN+.
All in all, the publicity the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament received will prove to be extremely beneficial for the NHL, international hockey games and the sport overall. The impressive debut will make it difficult to top in years to come.
