It Might Be the Biggest Hockey Game in Years

USA and Canada play Thursday night in the championship of the "4 Nations" hockey tournament, and the buzz is so intense that the Athletic suggests the tournament may be more important than the Stanley Cup to players and the league. Details:

• The tournament: It's made up of NHL players from the US, Canada, Finland, and Sweden playing for their countries during a nearly two-week break of the regular NHL season. Games have been fiercely competitive, with an earlier matchup between the US and Canada featuring three fights in the first nine seconds.
• Like 1980? US coach Mike Sullivan suggests Thursday's game in Boston might have the same impact as the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" victory over the Soviet Union. "That event in USA Hockey inspired a generation of players—my generation," he says, per the AP. "I think this group that we have in our dressing room [has] an opportunity to do that and inspire the next generation."

• Politics: Political friction adds intrigue, notes Time. The first games were in Montreal, where Canadian fans booed the US anthem to protest President Trump's annexation comments. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau posted a clip of the Canadian crowd loudly singing their own anthem, captioning it with the closing words, "We stand on guard for thee." After the fight-filled US-Canada game, Bill Guerin, GM of the American team, said, per Time: "I think there was a little bit of a political flare to it. It's just the time that we're in."
• Trump to call: In a Truth Social post on Thursday, the president said he can't attend the game but will call the US team "to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State."
• Ticket prices: They're rivaling Super Bowl prices, reports CNN. The cheapest tickets were going for $1,200, and pricier ones for up to $4,000.
• Ratings: The game is on ESPN in the US, and it might end up being one of the most-watched hockey games in history, per Sportico. It starts at 8pm ET.
• The game: Some of the best hockey players in the world will square off, including Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid for Canada, and Auston Matthews for the US. The American team also features the feisty Tkachuk brothers, Brady and Matthew. The game is essentially a "pick'em" in the eyes of oddsmakers, per DraftKings.

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