This is one of those days.
You know the ones. We jump out of bed, saying, “This is what I signed up for.” Feeding off a city’s energy and electricity. Trying to attack every minute with the best you’ve got.
Rivalry Saturday. Finland-Sweden, followed by Canada-USA. You don’t need to be a hockey fan…just a lover of sports. Or a Canadian, an American, a Finn, or a Swede.
What did Matthew Tkachuk tell Kyle Bukauskas? “I’ve thought about this game for nine years. We’ll be ready for it.”
Matthew, so will we.
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Canada-United States renew rivalry at 4 Nations Face-Off on Sportsnet
For the first time in 11 years, Team Canada and Team USA will go head-to-head in best-on-best Saturday night at the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal. Watch the game on Sportsnet starting at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.
I entered the business in 1993. There are days I remember—steps on the journey, breakthroughs, assignments, events. You get very lucky in this business. Olympics, Stanley Cups, World Series, playoff games, incredible human accomplishments out of nowhere. Great people you work with or cover who make you better because you see what makes them better. Different backgrounds, different heritages, different lives. It doesn’t matter.
Athletes, coaches, executives, trainers, equipment managers, support staff. Everyone with something to teach you.
Fans — the lifeblood of sports. Without them, there’s nothing.
This is one of those days.
Sports is one of the few unscripted things in the world. We predict, we presume, we pontificate. But we don’t know. On a day like today, I think of the late Bob Cole. We’d walk into an arena, and I’d say, “Going to be a great game tonight.” Bob would get annoyed. He’d whip his head around and say, “How do you know it will be a great game? You don’t know that!” I’d say it, knowing the reaction. And he’d give it, knowing I was baiting him.
It’s the undercard in North America, but Finland/Sweden is massive for those countries: an afternoon start here meaning Scandinavian prime time at home. Finland — devastated by injury before the tournament began — ran out of steam and were overwhelmed by the United States. Kevin Lankinen replaces Juuse Saros in goal, and a regulation loss makes Monday’s game against Canada meaningless.
The Swedes feel pretty good about themselves despite a 4-3 overtime defeat to Canada.
“We lost that game in the first minutes, when we couldn’t complete a pass,” one said with a shake of their head.
“We talked about it during the intermission,” Jonas Brodin said. “Play like we can play, and we’ll get back in it.”
Team USA captain Auston Matthews said watching this game taught him “you have to survive the first 10 minutes” against the host nation. Sweden settled down and gave Canada everything it could handle.
“We want to play those guys again,” said Rickard Rakell.
“No Mario Lemieux next time,” another laughed, referring to the roof-raising surprise introduction prior to puck drop.
That wish can only be granted by taking care of their own business first.
For North Americans, Finland-Sweden is the Tomato & Bocconcini of an elite meal. (Not an insult, nothing is better than my wife’s tomato & bocconcini with oil and vinegar.) The 12-ounce filet with a spicy peppercorn sauce is Canada/USA.
Sidney Crosby. Nathan MacKinnon. Connor McDavid. Matthew Tkachuk. Brady Tkachuk. Auston Matthews. Jack Eichel. Cale Makar. Zach Werenski. Brad Marchand. Jack Hughes. We could go on and on. An embarrassment of riches.
Crosby, not 100 per cent, was magical in the opener.
“Like a good wine,” Hall-of-Famer Teemu Selanne said. “Better when he gets older.”
One Swede said McDavid unselfishly sacrificed individual freelancing that makes him even more dangerous in Edmonton to fit within Canada’s system. Does that continue, or do the coaches adjust to unleash him a bit more?
Mike Sullivan was like the X-Man Gambit, hiding the most explosive cards until ready. He placed Werenski on PP1, although it didn’t start that way. The Blue Jacket blueliner had three assists, two with the man advantage.
Sullivan also waited to unite the Tkachuks with Eichel, breaking open the game. The brothers combined for five points and 11 hits, eight of them by Brady. Seeing these two big bowling balls barreling through Finland only added to the anticipation. Love them or hate them, you can’t take your eyes off them.
“I’m looking forward to being the villain,” Brady Tkachuk said. “I think it will be fun.”
If we needed any more excitement, there’s the overall atmosphere. I understood why not everyone was caught up in it months and weeks ago. You focus on your own team, not on this. But I believed that when it arrived, things would change.
The players have been phenomenal salesmen. They delivered with excellent media-day interviews, lots of good stuff. The best of the best are consistently available, led by Brad Marchand, who says no to nothing.
And it’s Montreal. Great restaurants, a top cigar bar, a cornerstone of hockey, a home rink absolutely buzzing for big games. The opening ceremony prior to Canada/Sweden riled up everyone inside. The NHL/NHLPA are doing everything possible to keep a lid on Saturday’s pre-game guests, although I love 32 Thoughts podcast producer Dom Sramaty’s guess: Celine Dion. Several Sportsnet teammates attended a spectacular NHL Alumni event Friday honouring the 1972 Summit Series Canadian Team.
In the building or outside, if you aren’t having fun, you’re the problem.
Today is February 15th, Canada’s Flag Day. It’s the 60th anniversary of our red-and-white Maple Leaf. The plan was to hand out 20,000 miniatures at tonight’s game. Whether or not that happens, tensions will be supercharged by Thursday’s booing of The Star-Spangled Banner by some in attendance. Despite pleas not to do so that will precede tonight’s anthem, we have to expect it. I don’t like it — Allied soldiers liberated my grandparents from Bergen-Belsen in 1945, paving the way for me to exist — and I always think of them whenever anthems are played. But we live in mind-numbing times, and clownish threats to annex Canada — no matter how ridiculous the idea — created this unfortunate craziness.
But this night won’t be about that for me.
This is about community. So many will be snowed-in, smothered by a downfall this week, prepping for more. Maybe you’re on the couch with your loved ones today and tonight. Maybe you’re with your good friends. Maybe you’re with some of the best people you’ve ever worked with, my situation this weekend. Even if you’re by yourself, you’re not alone. Because this is one of those days a game is so big, everyone’s connected.
Saturday began with a workout. I’ll walk 15 minutes to the rink, probably with David Amber and Kevin Bieksa. An Americano will be consumed. Stylist supreme Deb Berman picked out a beautiful corduroy suit. Makeup artist Hilary Whitebread will attempt to cover the accidental surgery a new razor blade performed on my face, along with the usual pound of makeup I require. On-set at 12:30 p.m. ET/9:30 a.m. PT, on-air at 1 p.m. ET/10 a.m. PT.
It’s going to be an awesome day. A day you embrace.
No matter where you live, who you are or where you come from: once you tune in, we’re all on the edge of our seats, together.
