Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel (38) celebrates in front of Ottawa Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot (72) after scoring past goaltender Anton Forsberg during the second period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Feb. 6, 2025, in Tampa, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)
MONTREAL (AP) — Canada and Sweden traded chances back and forth, skating up and down the ice for 3-on-3 overtime that provided dazzling entertainment in the opener of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
By the time Mitch Marner scored the winner for Canada, more than six minutes had elapsed. Had it been during the NHL regular season, the horn would have sounded at the 5-minute mark and the game decided in a shootout.
Extending OT to 10 minutes is one of the experiments taking place at the tournament that could go into use as soon as next season. There’s still plenty of debate over whether it should, and Marner’s goal made it a hot topic in Montreal.
“I don’t know. It’s a good question,” Finland captain Aleksander Barkov said Thursday. “Obviously there’s a lot of games — 82 regular-season games — and on top of it, if you keep adding longer and longer overtimes, I don’t know how guys would take that. I’m fine with how it is right now.
Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon, who played more than a third of OT, said the discussion even came up in Canada’s locker room on Wednesday night. His answer about 10-minute overtimes becoming a reality in the NHL was clearer than he could see by the end of that game.
“No. No. No,” MacKinnon said. “I was happy when Marner scored because I didn’t have much left to give, so 5 to 7 would be good.”
Changing the rules would require an agreement between the league and Players’ Association, though it’s good timing for that with collective bargaining talks ongoing and official negotiations on the horizon. Adding more of a workload without extra pay is a strike against extending OT, and it would tax the top players more than others.
“I like it as far as I think it’s more fun, overtime,” U.S. goaltender Jake Oettinger said. “You have to ask the top players that would be playing extra minutes, I think, for them, but I vote yes on it. I think it’s great.”
It would also increase the likelihood of games ending before a shootout, which Canada’s Mark Stone called “a glorified skills competition.” Self-professed shootout-hating U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski would prefer that but is concerned at the potential consequences.
“In overtime, usually your top guys are going and if it’s a back to back or whatnot, obviously it takes a lot out of you,” Werenski said. “It was something to mess around with, I think, especially maybe preseason or something just to see how guys feel. I wouldn’t be opposed to going to 10 minutes. I just don’t like shootouts that much.”
The NHL is also using the tournament to try adding 30 seconds to each of the three television timeouts every period and subtracting a minute from each of the two intermissions. Canada coach Jon Cooper isn’t sure about how much of an impact that might have, if any.
“TV timeouts are long as it is,” Cooper said. “Can you recharge some of your top-end players? Of course you can. But then what does it do to the guys that haven’t been out there, haven’t been out before the TV timeout? And now you’ve got to wait through that. It’s kind of the double-edged sword in that part.”
The 4 Nations is also using the international system of awarding three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win, one for an overtime or shootout loss and none for a regulation loss.
“I feel like it makes a bigger difference in the end,” Sweden’s Lucas Raymond said. “I’m used to it back in Sweden when I was playing, it was always a three-point system. It’s a little bit different, but it for sure brings a bigger impact.”
Changing the point system is the least likely thing for the NHL. When asked about it, Commissioner Gary Bettman has said there is not much of an appetite to abandon the current format of two points for a win of any kind and one for an overtime or shootout loss.
A 5-3 win for Canada in Monday’s game against Finland has pushed it through to the championship game, where it will face the USA.
The U.S. clinched its spot in the final with a 3-1 win over Canada on Saturday. That game in Montreal started off tense as the fans booed the US National Anthem. Then there were three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.
They have a history
Recently US President Donald Trump suggested that Canada might be a good candidate for becoming the 51st state. That suggestion was not taken well by Canadians and so there has been an added incentive to the usual chippy rivalry.
Canada and the USA will meet to decide the champion of a best-on-best men’s international tournament for the first time in 15 years (last: 2010 Winter Olympic Games). Thursday’s 4 Nations Face-Off final will mark the fifth time the two countries will clash in a championship/gold medal game at an NHL International Tournament or Olympics (CAN: 3-1). In their last head-to-head meeting in best-on-best hockey at the 2010 Olympics, USA defeated Canada in the preliminary round before Canada earned the victory in the gold medal game – Canada will look to continue that trend on Thursday.
The championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off is set for Thursday (8 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), longtime rivals Canada and the USA will write the next chapter in their lengthy on-ice history.
After netting the overtime winner Saturday against Sweden, Mikael Granlund scored twice to pull Finland within a goal late in the third period on Monday, marking the fifth time a player from Finland has recorded a multi-goal game at an NHL International Tournament. He joined Esa Tikkanen (1991 Canada Cup vs. USA), Janne Ojanen (1991 Canada Cup vs. Canada), Juhani Tamminen (1976 Canada Cup vs. Sweden) and Lasse Oksanen (1976 Canada Cup vs. Sweden).
Chris Kreider of Boxford, Mass., playing in his home state, scored 35 seconds into his first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off, the fastest goal of the tournament and eighth time a player has scored in the first 35 seconds of a game at an NHL International Tournament.
USA forward J.T. Miller had a 98.51 mph slap shot at 12:11 of the third period (via NHL EDGE), which displaced Sweden’s Victor Hedman (97.60 mph vs. Canada) for the hardest shot of the 4 Nations Face-Off so far.
Werenski will become the fifth player with at least five assists in a single NHL International Tournament while playing four games or fewer (the max GP for any player at 4 Nations Face-Off). The others (all in 4 GP): forwards Peter Forsberg of Sweden (7 at 1996 WCH), Gilbert Perreault of Canada (6 at 1981 CC), DanielAlfredsson of Sweden (6 at 2004 WCH), as well as defenseman Calle Johansson of Sweden (6 at 1996 WCH).
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Aaron Judge naturally takes issue with Juan Soto’s conclusion that the New York Mets have a better chance to win World Series titles than the Yankees.
Soto left the Yankees as a free agent in December for a record $765 million, 15-year contract with the Mets, turning down the Yankees’ $760 million, 16-year offer.
“That’s his opinion. He can say what he wants. I definitely disagree with him,” Judge, the Yankees captain, said Monday after his team’s first full-squad workout this year. “He’s going to be in a great spot. It’s going to be great having him in the town. We’re going to be battling back and forth for quite a few years.”
Judge hit third last year behind Soto and called him “one of a kind” and “a special player.” Because Soto changed his phone number, Judge wasn’t able to contact Soto until after the decision.
“I wasn’t too surprised by it. I think that’s where he wanted to be. I think that’s where is best for him and his family,” Judge said. “He got a pretty nice deal over there. I mean, you can’t say no to that. But I’m happy for you.”
Judge, who turns 33 on April 26, won his second AL MVP award in three years after leading the major leagues last season with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and 133 walks. He hit .322 as the Yankees reached the World Series for the first time since 2009, only to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in five games.
“Getting to the dance and then losing out on it definitely is a lot worse than not even getting in,” Judge said. “So guys are motivated. Guys are ready to go.”
Judge dropped Tommy Edman’s routine fly to center in World Series Game 5 for his first error of the year as the Yankees blew a 5-0 lead and were eliminated with a 7-6 loss. Dodgers pitcher Joe Kelly said his team had anticipated Yankees’ defensive mistakes.
“We heard that, but there’s nothing you can do besides you have to beat them,” Judge said. “They won. They can say whatever they want. So if you don’t like it, you got to play better.”
Judge is likely to play primarily in right field following the acquisition of Cody Bellinger in an offseason trade with the Chicago Cubs. Judge was mostly in center last year.
Oh, baby — Judge has extra motivation
Judge’s wife, Samantha Bracksieck, gave birth to the couple’s first child, Nora Rose Judge, on Jan. 27.
“Having the chance to have her grow up and watch me do what I love, if there’s any way I can inspire her through playing this game to do something special, that’s that’s going to be pretty cool,” Judge said.
“I’m getting older,” he added. “I don’t want to be the old man here in a couple of years, so I got to stay on top of my game. So she’s definitely going to motivate me, definitely keep me on my toes. and it’s going to be a fun couple of years, that’s for sure.”
Jasson Domínguez finds himself between Judge and Bellinger
Jasson Domínguez arrived to find his locker between Judge’s and Bellinger’s.
“I was kind of surprised,” the 22-year-old rookie said. “But I think it’s a good thing to be in that group and be able to learn from them.”
Domínguez struggled during 13 left field appearances with the Yankees when he returned late last season from Tommy John surgery. Before reporting to major league camp, he had been working on left field defensive routes at the minor league complex.
“The pressure is there, but I feel like it’s a good thing to have,” Domínguez said. “It’s motivation to get better, to be the player that everyone expects me to be.”
A switch-hitter, Domínguez batted .109 right-handed (2 for 19) and .216 left-handed (8 for 37) with the Yankees last season. He homered against left-hander Carlos Rodón in batting practice on Monday.
“He’s really young and he’s not real experienced,” manager Aaron Boone said. “Over time I think he’s going to be a real factor from both sides of the plate.”
NFL wants an early Sunday morning package from Europe
It has been a couple of years in the talking stages, but the NFL has been pondering the idea of playing as many as four to six games a season in Europe. Their idea was to sell that package to a streaming service giving the fans worldwide four-time windows for all-day watch of the NFL.
The slots would be 9 a.m. then 1 p.m. late afternoon at 4:30 p.m. with Sunday Night Football in America starting at 8 p.m. The new package would be offered to Apple TV, Netflix, Prime Video, and YouTube with worldwide streaming rights as part of the package.
The NFL sees a morning package with the streaming services all who have access to a worldwide audience as a way to advance their brand. England and Europe have been a key focal point in growing the league and the Sunday morning slot will be a new window for the NFL.
Netflix wants more
Enter Netflix who in 2024 established a Christmas Day doubleheader that was a massive success. Both the NFL and the streaming giant were over the moon about how well it was received. So, Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria recently revealed to Matt Belloni of Puck, as reported by John Ourand, that the company is interested in bidding on the NFL’s coveted Sunday afternoon game packages.
Those packages are now held by CBS and FOX, and under the present contracts which currently run through 2033, represent the backbone of NFL Sunday afternoons. It gets interesting as the NFL holds the option to terminate the four years early, a move that many industry insiders believe is highly likely.
The idea that Netflix could land the afternoon time slots is troubling to CBS, FOX, NBC, and event ESPN/ABC as long-time NFL partners. There is no doubt that if Netflix shows interest you can bet that both Apple and Prime Video are going to want in on the bidding.
The draw of an afternoon package puts the games on in primetime in Europe and the streamers’ worldwide audience is ready for the new content.
Taking the Sunday afternoon game off free TV could be a problem
If this is strictly a money deal then count out ABC/ESPN, CBS, FOX, and NBC because they can’t compete with the endless resources of cash the streamers have to spend. The NFL has to choose if it is ready to take one of its signature packages off free TV.
The loser of the afternoon package CBS or FOX could be relegation to the NFL Sunday morning package. A big change for viewers and one that would be a real shock for the fans.
Entertainment8 years ago