Series Talk: Four Nations Face-Off Tournament

[GeoRox89]

Yes? I don't see what's so funny. Most people aren't getting sick 3x per year to my knowledge.

This is a particularly bad year for the flu even for younger healthy people. If it’s just this year, don’t think it means much he’s gotten sick more than once. If this routinely happens, that’s weird

 

[Metallo]

Cale seems to get sick quite a bit

We all know Cale is sick. But now, Cale got sick.

 

[Gumballhead]

How was advanced stat God Toews when he isn't attached at the hip to Makar.

I assume terrible? Not to diss Toews but on his own merits he wouldn't be a lock for this team.

I disagree because I saw Harley out there.

 

[John Mandalorian]

It's big boy Adin Hill time.

Moreover, it’s St Louis Blues rebuke time.

 

[Gumballhead]

Let's be honest, Canada threw Marchand and Doughty a bone. No way they ever come close to touching the actual Olympic team. Likewise, with the Tampa Bay Lightning line, this is a country that lost to Latvia in the WJC U20 with stupid decisions, so maybe they will bring nepotism back in Italy next February.

I like the Doughty pick, he's got a ton of experience, solid hockey sense and he still plays physically.

 

[Gumballhead]

Canada created more danger, but USA skated in the zone and took two wrist shots that beat the terrible Binnington. Game over.

Goalies are part of the team, so the USA were better as Helly was worlds better than Binnington.

End of story.

I think there's a little more to it, but yes. Binnington actually made some killer saves but he also let stinkers in. It's impossible thinking because the game wouldn't have been exactly the same with a different goalie, but in a vaccum you could argue those great saves Binnington made might have gone in against another goalie and it would have evened out his bad ones. But for sure, with what really happened in reality world, not a great overall game at all from Binnington. I think it was effort and jam that really made the difference, and that's interesting because the US isn't overtly physical to a man, but they seem to be able to play that style and be successful. Canada does not seem comfortable with all the jam.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

Hypothetical, if Canada/Finland go to OT tomorrow, does the US "let" Sweden win their game to insure Canada doesn't make the final? Like treating it like a practice/scrimmage ie: roll all four lines, play the top guys a lot less, play their "backup" goalies, let the 2nd PP unit get more time, etc.

 

[wayninja]

Sounds like it might be team USA's interest to just tank the game against Sweden?

edit; Oh, I should finish reading the post...

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

How many Avs have gotten sick three times in the last twelve months?

Mittelstadt seems sickly 82 times a year.

 

[Bill Peckerskull]

 

[Avs_19]

Good for the NHL. I imagine it'll be an even bigger number if they rematch in the final.

I rarely give Bettman and his crew any props because they rarely do anything deserving of it but this has been a big hit. Hopefully it sticks for the odd years where there's no Olympics or World Cup.

 

[dahrougem2]

What was in 2019 that attracted so many viewers?

 

[NOTENOUGHRYJOTHINGS]

What was in 2019 that attracted so many viewers?

A combination of Boston and a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Blues be relevant.

 

[Pokecheque]

What was in 2019 that attracted so many viewers?

Avowed Blooz fan Jon Hamm was at the peak of his fame

 

[RoyIsALegend]

Purely an exhibition and a waste of time. Pond hockey

I usually can't stand A-blood's takes but I'm afraid I'm in agreement with him here. I can't even begin to muster excitement over this tournament. All it's doing is setting off anxiety that one or more Avs players will get hurt in a completely meaningless hockey game.

As for the All-Star game, I DGAF about that one. It's not for me, it's for the kids, so I don't mind them taking a week to just ham it up and do stupid shit for the cameras and audience. Less chance of getting hurt (though I will never get over Rob Blake getting hurt at the one in goddamn Minnesota).

Hot take, but I like the USA's defensive core one through six better than Canada's. Makar is definitely the best of either bunch though.

However, I won't be watching this as I hate NHL-sponsored gimmicks that are money grabs. The 1996 World Cup was one of the best events I ever watched, even though I was still a young lad. It's not hard to bring that supreme tournament back than this rubbish. Don't even do a group stage, just take the top 16 in terms of current IIHF ranking points and do a playoff bracket ranked 1 v 16, 2 v 15, etc. The first and second rounds are single-game eliminations, the third round is best out of three, and the finals are best out of five. Boom, rating galore.

I take it you guys aren’t watching this tournament at all, right?

 

[The Abusement Park]

Compatible with elite players yet isn't playing with elite players, he's been with Cirelli/Konecny/Point through two games.

Point looks like a guy who misses Kucherov badly. If you know that guy thrives with an elite vision/IQ player, why isn't he with McDavid or Marner? Ditto Hagel.

Yeah Hagel should be with McD, Marner or Mackinnon imo. I think he'd thrive there and would help those guys out a lot by giving them a guy who doesn't need the puck to be effective.

And yeah Marner/Point seems like such an obvious pairing at this point.

 

[S E P H]

I take it you guys aren’t watching this tournament at all, right?

I did peek a little bit on the first game to see what it would be about and 100% hooked. Now with that said, I probably won't be watching on Monday. The finals? Definitely yes.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

I did peak a little bit on the first game to see what it would be about and 100% hooked. Now with that said, I probably won't be watching on Monday. The finals? Definitely yes.

Good man admitting your 180 degree turn.

 

[S E P H]

Good man admitting your 180 degree turn.

My major concern and why I originally called it a gimmick was because of ONLY four nations. Half of the top 30 scorers aren't even in this tournament it feels like and because the NHL doesn't want to involve IIHF, we might not be able to see European-based players field a German, Czechia, Slovakia, Suisse, and other countries team. Plus having no Russia and Belarus is a pretty big loss on top of that. I understand why they aren't, but I don't think Bobvrosky or Kaprizov told Putin to invade somebody else or have any sort of power that they should be punished. Think about the ratings behind Canada vs Russia or USA vs Russia in this political climate. Omg, it would be WWIII on the ice.

 

[myperbixhurts]

Already some key injuries. Theodore, Tkachuk. Can we just get this tournament over with and get back to NHL hockey please. Actually any one getting injured in this tournament is gonna be a key player for their NHL team

 

[S E P H]

Heated U.S.-Canada face-off delivers red hot 4.4 million on ABC

A heated matchup between the United States and Canada delivered a massive audience in the NHL Four Nations Face-Off.

www.sportsmediawatch.com

These are just USA numbers, with Canada it could be close to 10 million overall.

 

[CharlesPuck]

Already some key injuries. Theodore, Tkachuk. Can we just get this tournament over with and get back to NHL hockey please. Actually any one getting injured in this tournament is gonna be a key player for their NHL team

This is such an odd take to me. The players OBVIOUSLY care about this tournament. Telling them not to care because they may get hurt is weird.

An NHL player could get hurt in a Tuesday game in San Jose or even just a practice. It happens.

 

[RoyIsALegend]

This is such an odd take to me. The players OBVIOUSLY care about this tournament. Telling them not to care because they may get hurt is weird.

An NHL player could get hurt Tuesday game in San Jose or even just a practice. It happens.

The same Tkachuk he’s talking about said he was waiting for Saturday night’s game his entire life. He said he couldn’t sleep the night before. He said he was watching tape of his dad’s games against Canada for the past month in anticipation.

The players love representing their countries.

I, for one, love watching the passion they’ve shown in this tournament. Makes me even more excited for the Olympics.

 

[GeoRox89]

What was in 2019 that attracted so many viewers?

A combination of Boston and a once in a lifetime opportunity to see the Blues be relevant.

This was puzzling to me since they made a point about non-SCF game. The third highest rated NHL broadcast in 2019 was Bruins-Blackhawks Winter Classic. It actually drew more viewers than SCF games 1-5 but games 6 and 7 drew more than double the viewers

 

[Foppa2118]

Friend, that's a cute picture.

Watching the game told another story.

As did the final score.

Probably had a lot to do with the turtle in the 3rd.

Canada was right there, and BInnington giving up a softie played a big factor in the outcome, but I still thought USA controlled the play more than Canada. They were faster and stronger, and this helped them contain Canada better than Canada could contain them.

The top players on Canada in McDavid and MacKinnon were much less impactful than normal. Barely even noticed Nate, and MacDavid was getting muscled around, more than he was generating chances.

There's a reason Copper was shuffling up the lines. If Canada was dominating, he wouldn't have done that.