Canada brings winning history to the NHL's 4 Nations Face-Off final. Can Team USA counter with the Tkachuks almost 30 years since their father beat the Canadians?

Best-on-best has delivered some memorable hockey moments through the first six games of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Next, Canada and the United States will square off for the trophy in Boston on Thursday.

After their win over Canada in Montreal on Saturday, Team USA may be in the driver’s seat heading into Thursday’s final against Canada. But the Americans are banged up and going into the final after losing to Sweden on Monday. And history isn’t exactly on their side.

Back in 2016, the U.S. players barely made a ripple at the World Cup of Hockey. They were eliminated after losing all three of their round-robin games. 

Not a single player from that roster is wearing the stars and stripes this time around, but the coaching staff looks familiar. Nine years ago, John Tortorella had the head job, with Mike Sullivan and John Hynes among his assistants. This time around, Sullivan and Torts have traded places, and Hynes is back. Bill Guerin has also replaced Dean Lombardi as GM.

The Under-23 Team North America didn’t reach the 2016 playoffs either. But it did come close and set a new standard for style that some believe was the catalyst for the speedy, skilled hockey that we regularly see today. 

Current Canadian coach Jon Cooper was an assistant to Todd McLellan on that squad, and Pete DeBoer was an assistant on Team North America in 2016 and Canada in 2025.

Team North America's roster was made up of 12 Americans and 11 Canadians, and a bunch of those players are now important members of the 4 Nations teams. There’s captain Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, Dylan Larkin, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck on the U.S. side, with Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon and Colton Parayko skating for Canada.

Of course, Team Canada's 23-and-over group won that 2016 World Cup, led by three 4 Nations returnees: Sidney Crosby, Brad Marchand and Drew Doughty. That roster was also managed by current Canadian GM Doug Armstrong. Assistant Misha Donskov is the lone 4 Nations holdover from the 2016 coaching staff.

When it comes to big-game experience, Crosby is truly in a class of his own.

On Monday, the 37-year-old showed he’s still got it with his last-minute open-ice hit and quick-strike empty netter to seal Canada's win over Finland.

That’s a play that’s born from the big-stage experience that Crosby has gained along his paths to Olympic gold in 2010 and 2014 and perfect runs at the 2015 men’s World Championship and the 2016 World Cup.

That’s how he amassed a record of 26-0 in international competition over nearly 15 years, between the Americans’ round-robin win over Canada in Vancouver in 2010 and USA's win last Saturday in Montreal.

That’s a powerful flex for a team to have in its back pocket — especially when Crosby and the Canadians avenged that first loss in 2010 with the famous Golden Goal.

Doughty was also part of those 2010 and 2014 Olympic teams. And after Crosby helped snap Canada's seven-year World Championship drought in 2015, the Red and White has gone on to win three more times.

Other Canadians on the 4 Nations roster with World Championship gold include  McDavid, MacKinnon, Mark Stone, Sam Reinhart, Brandon Hagel, Adin Hill and Marchand.

On Thursday, the deciding game will be played on U.S. soil. Also, the Tkachuk brothers showed just how much they can dictate an outcome when they unveiled their fight-fight-fight strategy to set the tone for Saturday’s American win.

If they’re healthy enough, the Tkachuks will bring a dimension that Team USA successfully leveraged in its last best-on-best win: the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Nearly 29 years ago, before either Matthew or Brady Tkachuk was born, their father Keith was the runaway leader in penalty minutes in that NHL-mounted pre-season tournament. 

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cBGxCbZWLts[/embed]

The Americans were tough and played on the edge all tournament, setting up a high-intensity best-of-three Canada and U.S. final. In Philadelphia, the Canadians took Game 1 in overtime. But the Americans won the final two games in Montreal, marking the beginning of a new era in the sport.

Since then, the game has grown enormously south of the border. The U.S. broke through to win its first world juniors gold in 2004 and is now up to seven titles after back-to-back wins in 2024 and 2025. But USA Hockey hasn't matched that success at other levels since the Miracle on Ice at the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics. 

The Americans haven't made the gold medal game at a World Championship since the playoff format was introduced in 1992 — although a young Connor Hellebuyck was voted best goaltender in the tournament when Team USA earned bronze in Prague at the 2015 Worlds.

Their two best Olympic showings in the last 40 years ended in losses to Canada — in Vancouver in 2010 and on home soil in 2002, in Salt Lake City.

Keith Tkachuk was on that 2002 roster. He took home a silver medal as a 29-year-old, making his third Olympic appearance. All told, Tkachuk skated in four Olympic Games, but that was his only Olympic hardware.

He also returned to the World Cup in 2004, when the U.S. lost to Finland in the semifinal, and Canada prevailed in the final.

Keith's sons absolutely carry his hockey DNA. And as we saw when the injured Matthew pushed himself to his absolute limit during the Florida Panthers' Cup run in 2023, they'll do anything to get on the ice and make their mark in high-stakes matchups.

If they're well enough to put their family's stamp on the proceedings, the Tkachuks could be the X-factors that help the Americans repel Crosby's superpowers and set off a Beantown Bash on Thursday night.

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