Canada and the United States will meet in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET. When these two teams met on February 15th, the U.S. defeated Canada 3-1 behind two goals from Jack Guentzel and one from Dylan Larkin. Though the U.S. ended up pulling away late, Canada led 1-0 after an early goal from Connor McDavid. What should we expect from players on both of these teams in tonight's contest?
Here are the three best 4 Nations Face-Off Championship PrizePicks player predictions for Thursday, February 20th.
Canada and the United States will meet in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship tonight at 8:00 p.m. ET. When these two teams met on February 15th, the U.S. defeated Canada 3-1 behind two goals from Jack Guentzel and one from Dylan Larkin. Though the U.S. ended up pulling away late, Canada led 1-0 after an early goal from Connor McDavid. What should we expect from players on both of these teams in tonight's contest?
Here are the three best 4 Nations Face-Off Championship PrizePicks player predictions for Thursday, February 20th.
4 Nations Face-Off Championship PrizePicks Player Predictions
Connor McDavid More Than 0.5 Assists
Connor McDavid has recorded at least one point in all three of his tournament games. He's recorded an assist in two of those three contests, though he failed to record one against the U.S. While some bettors may be more inclined to take McDavid more than 2.5 shots on goal (SOG), something he did against Team USA five days ago, I believe this is the safer play.
McDavid has recorded 49 assists in 49 NHL games this season. In January, he recorded a whopping 20, and he had an assist in 10 of his 13 contests. While he's playing with a different group of teammates in this tournament, his success at finding other players has not waned at all. While Team USA has been sound defensively, they've given up at least one goal in each of their games. I don't expect that to change tonight.
Jordan Binnington Less Than 26 Goalie Saves
This feels like a trap from oddsmakers. Jordan Binnington has yet to save more than 23 shots in a game during this tournament. In Saturday's loss to the U.S., he only faced 22 shots, saving 20 of them.
The U.S. attempted 33 shots on goal against Sweden in their last game of round-robin play, with Samuel Ersson making 32 saves. But the U.S. also trailed for the majority of that game, which likely led to the increased offensive chances.
In their first game, they also attempted more than 30 shots, but that was against a much weaker Finnish team. Entering this game, not only do the U.S. players need to attempt more shots than they did in their first game against Canada, but it's also likely that Binnington will need to record a tournament-high save percentage. Nothing he's done thus far indicates he can do that.
Jack Hughes More Than 2.5 Shots On Goal
Jack Hughes put five shots on goal in Monday's 2-1 loss to Sweden, his most attempts at the tournament thus far. He also spent 21:21 on the ice, which was significantly more time than he saw in either of his first two games. While Hughes only attempted two shots in 17:50 in the first game against Canada, he had three shots in 16:08 against Finland.
This season, Hughes ranks in the top 20 in the NHL in goals scored, and he's fourth in shots on goal. Though he hasn't found the back of the net in this tournament, he has been shooting. As a scorer, I expect him to create plenty of chances for himself tonight. Had he recorded three shots on goal in the first game against Canada, there is no way this number would be set where it is. With everything to play for tonight, I expect him to surpass Saturday's production.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Thursday:
