The New Jersey Devils have three players playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Earlier in the day on Saturday, Erik Haula and Team Finland took down Jesper Bratt and Team Sweden.
Then in primetime, Jack Hughes and Team USA took on the big scary Team Canada. With Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby leading the way, it is easy to fear a team that loaded. Both Canada (Cale Makar) and the U.S. (Quinn Hughes) would be without their best defensemen, which evened up the matchup.
Canada kicked things off exactly how you thought they would. Connor McDavid used his speed to burn Charlie McAvoy and he roofed one over Connor Hellebuyck. It was a spectacular play to give his county a 1-0 lead. While Jack Hughes wasn't at fault for the goal against, he did have to watch it happen and received a -1 for his efforts.
From there, as they did in Game 1, Team USA took over after relinquishing the first goal to their opponent. Jake Guentzel scored a big goal to tie things up for the Americans. Jack Hughes was on the ice for that one, which evened out his +/-.
Team USA took down Team Canada in a 4 Nations Face-Off matchup 3-1.
In the second period, Dylan Larkin scored to give Team USA their first lead of the game. From there, they were in control of the game. Eventually, Jake Guentzel scored again with an empty netter and Team USA sealed their 3-1 victory over their biggest international hockey rival.
Jack Hughes didn’t score or have an assist in the game, but he was very good. His speed allowed him to be creative in the offensive zone while playing a solid 200-foot game. He is making an impact in all three zones. If this is the version of Hughes that exists in the second half of the NHL season, New Jersey will win a lot of games.
Cale Makar, the best defenseman in the NHL, missed this game with illness, so he could be in the lineup if there is a rematch. It is fair to assume that Makar can impact a result when he returns, but the Americans proved a lot with this win anyway. If they meet again in the championship, it should be a brilliant matchup in every way.
Speaking of the championship, Team USA clinches participation with this win. In between, Hughes and company have a match against Team Sweden to tune up for the big game.