Why USA vs. Canada could be best hockey game of year

It might not have the same importance or overall appeal as the Stanley Cup Playoffs, or even the upcoming Olympic games in 2026, but when the United States and Canada meet in the 4 Nations Face-off on Saturday night (8 p.m. ET) in Montreal, it has a chance to be one of the best hockey games we see all year. Maybe even the best hockey games of the year.

The rivalry, talent, intrigue and anticipation are all off the charts, and there is going to be no shortage of emotion both on and off the ice.

Along with the political backdrop that has resulted in Canadian sports fans booting the American National Anthem in recent weeks — including at this very tournament — pretty much every hockey game between these two teams always seems to bring out some extra intensity.

But that's not all this game has going for it.

First, there is the talent that will be on display.

Both rosters are absolutely loaded with high-end talent and some of the game's best players. When the puck drops on Saturday night, 14 of the top-25 point-producers in the NHL this season are going to be in uniform, and that number does not even include American forward Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) and defenseman Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks) who is sidelined from the tournament due to injury. 

Matthews is one of the league's best goal-scorers and a three-time goal-scoring champion whose numbers and production have been limited this season by injury. Hughes is the NHL's reigning Norris Trophy winner. 

These tournaments are basically All-Star teams going up against each other, and these two rosters illustrate that perfectly.

Second, the players care about this.

A lot.

Because this is a new tournament and does not have the same appeal as, say, the Olympics, there was some question as to how committed the players would be. But there is something about representing their country that brings out the best in these guys when they put on that uniform. The first two games of the tournament this past week were fast-paced, physical and intense, and those were games (Canada vs. Sweden; USA vs. Finland) that were not really major international rivalries. 

This game is a major rivalry. 

This means so much to these guys that U.S. forward Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators) said this is going to be the biggest game he has ever played. Those are big words coming from an NHL player.

There is only elite talent on both rosters, they also have elite cage-rattlers and pests that can quickly turn up the chaos factor in a game. 

Brady Tkachuk and his brother, Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers), are two of the best players in the league when it comes to getting under the skin of an opponent. USA head coach Mike Sullivan (Pittsburgh Penguins) has them playing on a line around Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights) and it caused mayhem in Thursday's 6-1 win over Finland. 

To counter that, Canadian coach Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning) has put his two biggest pests, Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins) and Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers), on the same line for Saturday's game. 

If those two lines see the ice at the same time, and at some point you have to think they will, all bets are off for what can happen. 

Skill. Physical play. Emotion. The best players in the world. This game is going to have it all.