Canada has a chance at redemption on Thursday when it battles USA for 4 Nations Face-Off supremacy.
The pregame narrative: The Americans won the first meeting between these countries, 3-1, in an epic showdown at Bell Centre on Saturday night. I'm looking toward one player from each team — Connor McDavid and Jack Hughes — to be active shooters.
Check out the latest Canada vs. USA 4 Nations Face-Off prop picks for Feb. 20.
Canada vs. USA prop picks
Best Bet: McDavid over 2.5 shots on goal (-125)
McDavid is on the short list for Canada's best player this tournament, alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby — just as you'd suspect.
However, I think McDavid is set to remind everyone who the best player in the world is.
Edmonton's captain has a point in every game, scoring against both USA and Finland. He's cleared this mark in back-to-back outings (three shots vs. USA) and led all Canadian forwards in ice time against the Americans on Saturday (22:44).
He's going to draw the toughest matchups, but Jon Cooper will be incentivized to double and triple-shift the superstar in this do-or-die game.
That's nothing new to McDavid, who played 25-plus minutes four times in last year's Stanley Cup Final.
I also have a hunch the refs are going to tighten up their whistles after Saturday's affair, which saw three fights break out in the first nine seconds of the game.
Canada had two man-advantages against the Americans in that contest but came up empty. I don't know if its power play will break through, but extra looks on the man advantage can only help a player like McDavid rack up shots.
Key stat: McDavid had a team-high six shot attempts against the USA on Saturday, according to Money Puck.
Quick picks
Hughes over 2.5 shots (-136): Open ice and shooting lanes were hard to find on Saturday night as Hughes finished with just two shots against Canada in a victory.
But he logged three against Finland before that and had a team-high five against Sweden on Monday.
I expect the New Jersey Devils' superstar to be a threat early and often in the championship game. The centre is playing off-position on the right wing alongside Auston Matthews and Jake Guentzel, which puts him in a shoot-first mindset.
He's one of the NHL's most dangerous threats, ranking fourth in shots (206) behind only MacKinnon, David Pastrnak and Brady Tkachuk.
Hughes is averaging 3.6 shots per game with the Devils.
4 Nations Face-Off picks made at 2:55 p.m. ET on 02/19/2025.
