The 4 Nations Face-Off has been an enormous success for the NHL, with Saturday’s showdown between the U.S. and Canada drawing large scores.
And NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is aware of that the recipe for achievement has been a mixture of each nationwide satisfaction and a love for hockey.
Gamers and followers stand for the U.S. nationwide anthem earlier than 4 Nations Face-Off sport between Canada and the USA in Montreal on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press by way of AP)
Throughout an look on FOX Sports activities’ “Breakfast Ball” on Wednesday morning, Bettman praised the success of the event, which has introduced the league’s largest stars again to middle stage with an early take a look at what’s to return in the course of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.
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“The amount of excitement and attention that 4 Nations has gotten has been phenomenal,” he mentioned. “And I think lots and lots of people – not just hockey fans – are looking forward to seeing the rematch between Canada and the U.S. tomorrow night.”
Crew USA and Canada can have a rematch of Saturday’s round-robin sport that noticed the People placed on a 3-1 victory with a backdrop of heightened political tensions between the 2 nations. These rifts had been highlighted when Canadian followers booed in the course of the nationwide anthem earlier than two of America’s video games.
In response to the group’s boos and the fervour of the gamers on the ice, which resulted in a number of brawls, Bettman mentioned Wednesday he didn’t anticipate in any other case.
United States’ Dylan Larkin celebrates his purpose over Canada with teammate Matt Boldy throughout 4 Nations Face-Off motion in Montreal on Saturday, Feb. 15, 2025. (Christinne Muschi/The Canadian Press by way of AP)
“Our players were playing to play. Hockey players are like that – even if they’re playing shinny on a pond, they love playing the game, they love going all out. And again, this ability to now again represent their countries – and remember, the team’s are incredibly stocked with the world’s best hockey players from most countries.”
The 4 Nations Face-Off event is the precursor to 2 of hockey’s most anticipated occasions – the return of hockey within the Olympics and the World Cup of Hockey.
“The fact of the matter is, we haven’t had best-on-best for about 10 years and there are a lot of reasons for that,” Bettman mentioned. “A lot of people were critical saying ‘This is ridiculous, no one’s gonna watch it, players aren’t going to be intense about it.’ There’s no doubt about how our players love to play the game and represent their countries.”
Commissioner Gary Bettman throughout a press convention previous to the Stanley Cup Remaining sport between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers at Amerant Financial institution Enviornment in Dawn, Florida, on June 8, 2024. (Sam Navarro-USA In the present day Sports activities)
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In accordance with the league, Saturday’s sport between the U.S. and Canada drew in over 10.1 million viewers throughout North America – topping any non-Stanley Cup Remaining Sport in over a decade.
The 2 groups will meet once more within the championship sport on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET.
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