NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 16, 2025

Team USA defeats Canada, Finland upsets Sweden in 4 Nations Face-Off action. Details and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

TEAM USA DEFEATS CANADA, SECURES SPOT IN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

NHL.COM: The United States got two goals by Jake Guentzel while Dylan Larkin tallied the game-winner to defeat Canada 3-1 before a sellout crowd of 21, 015 fans at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Team USA winger Jake Guentzel (NHL.com).

Guentzel was named Player of the Game while teammate Connor Hellebuyck stopped 25 shots for the Americans. They have six points in the tournament, earning a spot in the Championship Game on Feb. 20 in Boston.

Connor McDavid opened the scoring in the first period for Canada, who outshot the Americans 26-23. This was the first game the Canadians have lost to the United States in a tournament featuring NHL players since the round-robin of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

TSN: The game got off to a raucous start with the Bell Centre crowd booing the American anthem, followed by three fights within the first 10 seconds of the game. The first tilt featured USA forward Matthew Tkachuk and Canadian winger Brandon Hagel, followed by Brady Tkachuk tangling with Sam Bennett, and American forward J.T. Miller scrapping with Canadian defenseman Colton Parayko.

DAILY FACEOFF: The Tkachuk brothers later said they and Miller engaged in those fights to “send a message” to the Canadians. It was something they planned during a group chat before the game.

NHL.COM: Matthew Tkachuk suffered a lower-body injury that forced him to sit out the final 12:36 of the third period. He later downplayed the injury but Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan said Tkachuk was still being evaluated by team doctors, leaving his status uncertain for Monday’s game against Sweden.

SPORTSNET: Canadian defenseman Cale Makar missed this game due to illness. He was replaced by Dallas Stars blueliner Thomas Harley.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was a well-deserved victory for the Americans. Matthew Tkachuk said postgame that he and his teammates wanted to send the message to the Canadians that “it’s our time right now.” It was received loud and clear.

McDavid’s goal aside, Team USA did a masterful job shutting down Canada’s vaunted offense with their physical defensive play. They took away the middle of the ice and the shooting lanes and cleared traffic in front of Hellebuyck, who was superb between the pipes.

Following the game, McDavid said he and his Canadian teammates are determined for a rematch with the United States. That will depend on the outcome of Monday’s game against the Finns.

Makar could return to action for that game. Canada missed his offensive presence and puck-moving skills against the Americans.

The biggest question for Canada will be whether Binnington, Adin Hill, or Sam Montembault gets the start against the Finns. Binnington looked shaky at times during Canada’s win over Sweden. He didn’t play badly against Team USA but Guentzel’s game-tying goal was a softie that even he knew he should’ve stopped.

The tournament shifts to Boston with Canada facing Finland and the USA taking on Sweden on Monday, Feb. 17. The championship game will be held on Thursday, Feb. 20.

If Canada or Finland wins in regulation on Monday, they’ll face the Americans on Thursday. If either team wins in overtime or a shootout, Sweden can advance to the final with a regulation win over the Americans.

NHL.COM: An overtime goal by Mikael Granlund lifted Finland to a 4-3 victory over Sweden during their afternoon game.

Anton Lundell, Mikko Rantanen and Aleksandar Barkov scored in regulation, Patrik Laine collected two assists and Kevin Lankinen turned aside 21 shots for Finland. Mika Zibanejad, Rasmus Dahlin and Erik Karlsson replied for Sweden. Filip Gustavsson left the Swedish net after the first period due to an illness, with Linus Ullmark stopping 15 of 17 shots the rest of the way.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canada-USA game overshadowed an entertaining back-and-forth contest between these long-time Nordic rivals.

The Swedes know their chances of reaching the championship game aren’t good. Karlsson praised the Finns’ game while lamenting his team’s inability to reach the standards they’d set for themselves.

Before the game, Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman spoke about the sporting rivalry between the two countries. “I think if you ask them, they say they’re the big brother. If you ask us, we’re the big brother.” Following the game, Laine replied, We’re the big brother now.”

IN OTHER NEWS…

RG.ORG: Hall-of-Fame winger Pavel Bure criticized the Vancouver Canucks’ handling of J.T. Miller during a discussion of his former club’s recent struggles. “If you’ve got a talented player who doesn’t fit into the team, that’s a failure of management,” said Bure. “If it gets to the point where you have to trade him, something has already gone wrong.”

THE PROVINCE: Speaking of the Canucks, season tickets will be rising by 11 percent for next season. Seats in the upper bowl of Rogers Arena will cost $6,900.00 CDN. The team said the increase covers ongoing renovations to the arena and their intention to keep pace with the rising salary cap.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The article notes the rising cap has little to do with the price increase and more to do with ownership’s belief they’re selling a luxury good, “a thing that their season ticket members value as a symbol, not as much as an experience.”

MONTREAL HOCKEY NOW: Sidelined Canadiens defenseman David Reinbacher is close to returning from a knee injury suffered during preseason. The promising blueliner could start playing with their AHL affiliate in Laval by the end of February.