Tkachuk Brothers Power USA Past Finland at 4 Nations

Matthew Tkachuk and Jake Guentzel scored 11 seconds apart to start the third against Finland, powering the USA to a 6-1 win on Thursday, to start each side’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Brady Tkachuk tucked his second of the game in past goalie Juuse Saros soon thereafter to secure the victory for the Americans, with Matthew following suit with his own second to close the scoring.

Game Recap

It had been a modest start to the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament for Team USA in Montreal, as one of the favorites to take home the title. However, the floodgates opened late in the second. With the scored tied 1-1, Finnish forward Roope Hintz couldn’t convert the two-on-one pass from ex-Montreal Canadiens legend Sebastian Aho. Shortly thereafter, Matthew Boldy tipped a Brock Faber point shot past Saros at 17:04 to put the USA up 2-1 entering the third period.

“We had a really good first and second period,” said current-Canadiens (and Finnish) forward Joel Armia. “The goals [against] in the third took us away from our game, but I was happy with the way we [had] played… I feel that’s usually how it goes. If you don’t score, the other team is going to score. The game would have been a lot different had we scored a couple goals in the second.”

To add insult to injury, defenseman Olli Maatta got called for interference on USA captain Auston Matthews off a defensive zone faceoff with mere seconds left in the frame. That sent the Americans to the power play to start the third with a golden opportunity to pull away, which they did, the elder Tkachuk wiring home his first marker just 15 seconds into the final period.

Younger-brother Brady’s first of the contest tied it right after Finnish defenseman Henri Jokiharju had opened the scoring off the rush 7:31 into the first period. The former snuck it past Saros’ pads to just barely get it over the goal line. Overall, Matthew Tkachuk (2G, 1A) and defenseman Zach Werenski (3A) led all scorers with three points each. Saros made 26 saves, while Connor Hellebuyck made 20 for the USA.

Finland next plays Sweden in a Saturday matinee on Feb. 15. The USA plays Canada that evening in the final game in Montreal before the tournament moves to Boston for the final two round-robin contests on Feb. 17 and the final on Feb. 20.