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00:00We welcome you to our number two live right here on this
00:03Thursday morning on the early line on SportsGrid. But on this
00:07Thursday night, all eyes will be on Boston inside TD Garden in
00:11the four nations face off championship bout between the
00:15bitter border rivals, the United States and Canada. So to get you
00:19set with everything you need to know for what has been a
00:23sensational and fun tournament in the four nations face off.
00:27The NHL's Pete Jensen joins us bright and early right from the
00:30jump in our number two to get you set Pete, as always, we
00:35appreciate the time. Thanks for being here ahead of what should
00:38be a great matchup tonight, the US and Canada for the
00:42championship in the four nations.
00:45Absolutely, guys, anytime, especially for something like
00:48this, right, the drama is going to unfold one way or another
00:52tonight, I expect it to be a tight game, have the feel of a
00:55game seven of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but even better
00:59because it's two nations, bitter rivals and a lot on the line
01:04tonight for these players who have really exceeded everybody's
01:08expectations in terms of how much they care for this
01:11tournament. It's been amazing to see refreshing to see for all
01:15the sports fans out there. And this game has plenty of allure,
01:19whether you're a diehard hockey fan, which it's a dream scenario
01:23or if you're just a casual sports fan, looking for
01:25something to get jacked up about
01:27for the name on the front of the sweater tonight in the pride of
01:32country inside TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, the
01:36United States on home ice taking on Canada, of course, on
01:41Saturday, Pete in round robin action, the United States up in
01:45Montreal, victorious with a three one victory over their
01:49Canadian foes, a lot of vitriol from the very start a ton of
01:53fights, basically as the puck was dropped. So as we look at
01:58the odds for tonight's title game, even on the money line,
02:02minus 110 on both sides, the Americans a slight favorite in
02:07that puck line, it's plus 235. If you think the United States
02:11can win by multiple goals, five and a half is that over under
02:16people get into the game breakdown. But let's start with
02:19the atmosphere. It was raucous. There was some hate early on
02:23Saturday. What do you anticipate tonight in the championship game
02:27in Boston?
02:29This is going to be crazy. It's a hot ticket. There's some
02:32celebrities that are going to be there. It's going to be the real
02:35deal in terms of that high intensity. You know, totally
02:40everything on the line, everything up for grabs. These
02:44guys have not played prior to Saturday, they haven't played in
02:48a US Canada game of this magnitude in almost a decade. And
02:52I even saw something someone was saying, and I believe it, it's
02:56the most important USA Canada game, most important USA
03:00international hockey game on American soil since 1980 miracle
03:06on ice. Maybe that's a little overblown, but maybe it's not. I
03:10mean, people are really thirsty for this intensity, it's going to
03:14be a lot of fun. And one angle I like from a betting lens to
03:19maybe take advantage of that we've seen two of the six games
03:22in this tournament go to overtime. Another one almost did
03:26that last game when Finland almost came back and tied it
03:29against Canada. So Canada's played in some really tight
03:32games, you could go three way money line, and just sit back
03:36and watch the drama unfold and not have to sweat who's going to
03:39win or lose as long as it gets to overtime, you'd win that.
03:44Pete, let's take a look here at the game itself, because we'll
03:46get into the X's and O's who's going to win and how many goals
03:49possibly in the NDP markets. But I need to know this from you
03:51tonight, with Team USA, a lot of bodies banged up in this game
03:55means so much any roster changes expectations, or what have you
03:58been hearing for the past couple days with some of these lines?
04:03Right, so it sounds like the Kachuk brothers, I mean, those
04:06guys are gamers, super, you know, warriors for the US, even
04:11beyond just, you know, the scraps that went down at the
04:13beginning of that game against Canada. These guys are high shot
04:16volume guys, guys that crowd the front of the net. Brady Kachuk
04:21has never played in the Stanley Cup playoff game in his Ottawa
04:25Senators career. So I think everything is indicating that
04:29he's going to be in for this game. Austin Matthews missed the
04:32last game for precautionary reasons. It sounds like he's
04:35good to go. Quinn Hughes, unfortunately, it looked like he
04:38was going to be a surprise edition potentially, but he is
04:42not traveling from Vancouver to join USA because he has not been
04:47medically cleared. At least that's the latest update on that
04:50front. Kael McCarr, who missed Saturday's game against the US
04:54when the US beat Canada. He's playing for Canada with McKinnon
04:57and McDavid. He is back in the lineup. And he led Canada in
05:02ice time the last game. He's an all world defenseman. So that is
05:06a matchup that could maybe tilt the scale for Canada to have
05:09some bounce back appeal here. But Charlie McAvoy, unfortunately,
05:13who was a physical force in that Saturday game, he is out with a
05:17shoulder injury, and had to receive some medical treatment
05:22and stuff. So he's out for the game. That's unfortunate for the
05:25US.
05:26Pete, when you look at the guys on the ice tonight, of course, it
05:29is a star studded as you could ever hope on both sides for
05:33Canada and for the United States. So as we look at the
05:37prop component tonight in the X's and O's key matchups of this
05:42list and maybe some others, which player steps up on maybe
05:46the most significant stage they have seen in their international
05:49hockey career.
05:51The goalie matchup is crazy because almost any day of the
05:55week you would pick whether you're doing fantasy or props or
05:59betting on games, you'd pick Connor Hellebuck over Jordan
06:03Bennington almost every day of the week. But this comes down to
06:05one single game. And it brings back memories of when Jordan
06:09Bennington beat the Boston Bruins in game seven of the
06:13Stanley Cup final in 2019 on the road at TD Garden kind of ripped
06:19their hearts out. So he's back to a familiar crease in that
06:22regard. And he's the x factor for me for Team Canada. He's
06:27actually been slightly better than Hellebuck in high danger
06:30save percentage during this tournament. So like it's been a
06:34surprise. I thought they would play Aiden Hill a little bit
06:36more, but it's been all Bennington for Canada. And he's
06:39been better than expected. And then in terms of some of the
06:43other props, I like the Kachuk brothers to get on the board,
06:46you can get Brady Kachuk for a plus number for a point, even
06:50better number for him to score a goal again playing with his
06:54brother Matthew and also Jack Eichel. So three studs on that
06:57line for sure. Pete, taking a look at that game played on
07:01Saturday did go to the under the three to one final. We're
07:03taking a look here at the fan blue sports book over five and
07:05a half is actually at a plus one 10 price. Are we looking for
07:07a higher energy higher scoring game or similar to what we
07:11actually saw on Saturday? I wouldn't be surprised to see it
07:15open up a little bit, especially with all the firepower that
07:18Canada has. And then maybe if the US responds once or twice,
07:22and it turns into topsy turvy, I'm not going to say it's going
07:25to be crazy high scoring. You know how these game seven type
07:29games go tight checking, everybody's nervous and stuff
07:32like that. But could I see it maybe go to overtime at three to
07:35three? I wouldn't be surprised at all. Especially with again,
07:40this is the first time this tournament that we're seeing
07:43like McKinnon, McCarr, McDavid, Crosby, all on the ice together
07:48for Canada. So it's going to be a lot of fun. We had never seen
07:52that prior to the four nations face off. And then there's
07:55Austin Matthews, there's Jack Hughes, Jack Hughes is due for a
07:58goal even though his brother's not playing no goals on 10 shots
08:02on goal in this tournament. So certainly do.
08:05The man or two on Saturday night up in Montreal, the pride of
08:10Omaha, Nebraska, Jake Edsel, who should be a big factor tonight
08:14as well. Pete, the four nations face off MVP odds. Connor
08:18Hellebuyck, the goaltender for the United States plus 250 with
08:22the shortest number. Hellebuyck did not play in the finale
08:25against Sweden in round robin action on on Monday in Boston to
08:29preserve him for this final should be a big one tonight. And
08:33what a great game we will have inside TD Garden. So Pete
08:36Jensen, thank you for getting us ready for the four nations face
08:40off championship tonight between the US and Canada. More on the
08:44early line comes your way up next.