As Many Predicted, Canada's Goaltending At 4 Nations Face-Off Has Been Their Achilles' Heel

Canada got off to a great start against Team USA on Saturday, but Adam Proteau says the Canadian team's biggest weakness – its goaltending – was obvious from the start.

Sometimes, the prognostications of hockey pundits turn out to be bang-on. And from what we’ve seen at the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, some of us were right to pinpoint goaltending as the potential root of disappointment for Team Canada.

In a critical second game of the tourney, the Canadians began the game strongly, taking a 1-0 lead early in the first period. But their momentum was snuffed out five minutes after their goal when American left winger Jake Guentzel scored what any reasonable observer would call a weak goal allowed by Canada goaltender Jordan Binnington. Then, in the second frame, the U.S. generated what would be the game-winning goal on another questionable scoring play that Binnington seemingly should’ve prevented.

All things considered, the Canadians’ netminding was a letdown – and, compared to the stellar play of U.S. star goalie Connor Hellebuyck, you could see why Team Canada fans would be pining for a far better goaltender than Binnington. And the truth is, there was a better goalie available – Washington Capitals netminder Logan Thompson, who wasn’t even on Team Canada’s roster of three goalies. Hindsight is always 20/20, of course, but there’s clearly plenty of room for second-guessing in terms of the goalie choices made by Canadian team GM Don Sweeney.

To be sure, Canada needed more from their offense, which produced only eight shots on net in the first and third periods. They’ll need to do much better than that if they take on the powerhouse American team again. But they need a significantly better performance from either Binnington or Adin Hill. (We’re purposefully not mentioning third-stringer Sam Montembeault, because if Canada does have to turn to him, you can forget about them winning this tournament.) But from our perspective, Team Canada coach Jon Cooper almost assuredly should go with Hill from this point on, as the stakes are too high to give Binnington more chances.

There shouldn’t be any confidence issues if and when Canada moves to a different goalie. The Finnish team has already made a major, successful gamble between the pipes, putting star goalie Juuse Saros on the sidelines after a rough first game and giving the reins to backup Kevin Lankinen in a close win over their arch-rival Swedish team Saturday afternoon.

The Swedes have also changed goalies in the 4 Nations Face-Off, removing Filip Gustavsson after a poor first period in Saturday’s game. And although Gustavsson’s replacement, Linus Ullmark, didn’t wind up winning an important matchup, the choices of the Swedes and Finns demonstrate the importance of good goaltending. If you have it, the way the American team does – and the way that the Finnish team did on Saturday – you’ve got a great shot to win games. And if you don’t have it, the way the Canadians and Swedes didn’t, you’re going to need a herculean effort on offense to bail out your goaltending.

That said, it’s readily apparent that the best defense in the 4 Nations Face-Off is not a good offense. Hellebuyck was this writer’s choice to be the best goalie at the 4 Nations Face-Off, and that prediction is looking pretty solid. But while the Canadian team has skill to spare at forward and on defense, their netminding just doesn’t look good enough to give their offense a chance to win gold at this tournament.

When it comes down to brass tacks, Canada doesn’t have enough depth in possibly the most important area of their roster, and Canadian management’s decision to leave Thompson out of the mix could well prove to be the error that costs them championship glory at the 4 Nations Face-Off. 

Sometimes, the pundits are correct in their evaluations of rosters, and in this case, we feel like we hit the nail on the head with our analysis of Canada’s Achilles heel. It doesn’t bring any joy to see that we were right on this topic, but it’s obvious what area can and will sink Canada’s championship hopes if things don’t improve in a hurry. Good goaltending matters, and teams that don't have it aren't going to win it all in this showdown of hockey powers.

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