Philly Leader

The championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament is set to take place between Team USA and Team Canada at Boston's TD Garden on Thursday night. The game will be broadcast at 8 p.m. EST on ESPN and ESPN+.

Canada secured their spot in the final after a decisive 5-3 victory over Finland during the concluding games of the round-robin phase on Monday. This win eliminated suspense regarding which team would face Team USA, as Sweden's subsequent 2-1 regulation victory over the USA did not affect the final matchup. Despite not losing any games in regulation, Sweden missed out on advancing due to previous overtime defeats by Canada and Finland.

Monday marked a significant day for Flyers players participating in the tournament, with all three selected by their national teams taking part in matches. Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim played for Team Canada against Finland, while Samuel Ersson started as goalie for Sweden against Team USA.

Konecny had an energetic presence on the ice with 12:11 of ice time but did not score. Sanheim contributed significantly with his play, logging 18:23 of ice time and assisting indirectly in Brayden Point’s goal that pushed Canada's lead to 3-0 early in the first period. By the end of the second period, Canada led 4-0 before Finland attempted a comeback with two goals from Mikael Granlund. Sidney Crosby's empty-net goal finally sealed Canada's victory.

In their match against Team USA, Sweden played solely for pride as they were already out of contention for the final. The game began with an early goal from Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Zack Werenski, who set up Chris Kreider for a score just thirty-five seconds into play. Ersson was challenged throughout but performed well, stopping 32 out of 33 shots.

Despite missing out on the finals, Ersson's performance stood out during this high-caliber international competition. His calm demeanor and skill left a strong impression that may influence selections for future tournaments.