Did the Vancouver Canucks hold their own during the 4 Nations Face-off?

A champion has been crowned in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off. In a thrilling and hard-fought final, Team Canada triumphed over Team USA 3-2 in overtime. With political tensions running high, the stakes were even greater; this was more than just a hockey game. 

For Team Canada, it was a fight for each other, their country, and their flag, a match far more significant than any group chat. Canadian coach Jon Cooper declared, “This one was different. This wasn’t a win for themselves. This was a win for 40-plus million people.” 

The final drew more than 16.1 million viewers across North America, while the seven-game, best-on-best tournament averaged 6.5 million viewers, a 256% increase from the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Connor McDavid cemented his name into Canadian hockey history by scoring the game-winning goal at 8:18 of overtime. The three-time NHL MVP received a pass from Mitch Marner and fired a shot past Connor Hellebuyck, triggering celebrations across Canada.

Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring early in the first period, and Sam Bennett tied the score at 2-2 in the second period. Jordan Binnington stopped 31 shots, making some spectacular saves in overtime to deny the Americans. 

Vancouver Canucks head coach Rick Tocchet served as an assistant coach on Cooper’s staff, playing a key role in guiding Team Canada to victory. Now, let’s take a closer look at how the Canucks players fared in the tournament: 

Elias Pettersson 

The 4 Nations Face-Off was intended to be a reset for Pettersson. In the midst of a lacklustre season in the NHL, marked by off-ice drama with former teammate J.T. Miller, a dip in production, and injuries, both fans and Coach Tocchet hoped the tournament would help him regain his form. Leading up to the event, Tocchet's message to the star center was simple: "I just want him to go out there and have fun."

Unfortunately, Pettersson had a near-invisible showing at 4 Nations, struggling to contribute offensively for Team Sweden. His stats from the tournament were underwhelming, with no goals, assists, or points, and just two shots on goal across three games. 

Pettersson also saw his ice time decrease throughout the tournament, starting with 16:31 in the opening game against Team Canada, and ending with only 9:54 in ice time during the final game against the USA.

Kevin Lankinen 

The Canucks goaltender, who signed a five-year, $22.5M contract extension on Friday, played in two of the three tournament games for Team Finland. He started as a backup goalie to his former Predators teammate, Juuse Saros, in the opening game against the USA.

In the second game against Sweden, Lankinen played a pivotal role in the 4-3 overtime victory, making key saves, including one on Mika Zibanejad and another on Adrian Kempe. 

His strong performance earned him the starting position for the must-win match against Canada. However, his performance in that game was disappointing, as he was pulled at 5:03 during the second period after allowing four goals on 13 shots. Saros couldn’t reverse the damage, and Canada advanced to the final with a 5-3 victory over Finland.

The boys are back in action tonight, kicking off a five-game road trip in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights. Both the Canucks and Golden Knights are coming off victories in their most recent games, with the Canucks posting a 6-1-1 record in their last eight games before the 4 Nations break.  Will you be rooting for Vancouver's very own tonight?