It was the kind of social media headline or push notification that makes casual fans want to tune in if they weren’t already watching:
Three fights in the first nine seconds
And tune in they did. Saturday night’s USA-Canada 4 Nations Face-Off tilt was ratings gold for the NHL and the hockey world.
In a press release Sunday evening, ESPN announced that the game averaged 4.4 million viewers on ABC, peaking at 5.2 million. It was the most-watched non-Stanley Cup Final hockey game since 2019. Those ratings were up 473% from ESPN’s broadcast of USA vs. Canada in the group stage of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and up 369% from ABC’s average for NHL telecasts this season.
As Canada head coach Jon Cooper put it Sunday, the game drew in not just “the usual suspects” (hockey fans), but “the unusual suspects” as well.
“There's probably people on your phone, and everybody's phone in here, people who text you, probably the usual suspects,” Cooper said. “I would say the unusual suspects were the ones that were… I was getting text messages from people just marveling at the game. … The audience had to be vast. I think it had a combination of everything. And the naysayers, you can say whatever you want about fighting. That was what ignited the game.”
What kept them tuned in was the skill, passion and physicality that was evident the rest of the game. A top-speed Connor McDavid going top-shelf to make it 1-0 Canada. Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy leveling McDavid with a big, clean hit a few minutes later. A sweet finish from Dylan Larkin off the rush to give the U.S. a 2-1 lead. A thunderous check by Brady Tkachuk on Drew Doughty. Some terrific, point-blank saves from USA goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
“When both teams flexed and nobody backed down, then a hockey game broke out, and it was a fantastic hockey game,” Cooper said. “When you get the best players in the world not only trying to score, but actually checking, this is what you get. And so you're holding your breath every time there's a potential scoring chance, because you don't know if it's going to be the last one. The game is in a better place because last night's game existed.
“The characters, the personalities, on both teams, I think really came to the forefront. It's why we love this game. There's lots of great sports out there. I don't want to corner us, put us in a corner. But it's a pretty brilliant game of speed, grace and toughness and swag, and all those things combined in one, and it can bring 22,000 people to a frenzy. It was phenomenal to be a part of.”
That’s the losing coach showing that kind of appreciation for what we all witnessed Saturday. On the winning side, the game may have meant even more. The U.S. had not beaten Canada in a best-on-best international tournament since the group stage of the 2010 Olympics. In fact, no one had beaten a Canada team that had Sidney Crosby on it since then.
USA Hockey and the players who make up this team believe a golden generation of American hockey has arrived. Many of these players have been part of World Junior teams that have shown how far the national program has come at that level. Until now, however, they have not had the opportunity to prove themselves at the highest level. The last best-on-best international tournament was nine years ago, before much of this roster was even in the NHL, never mind in their primes.
Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan believes tournaments like this, and moments like Saturday night, could do for future generations of American hockey players what the 1980 Miracle on Ice once did.
“I think the potential is boundless,” Sullivan said. “When you watch a game like the game that went on [Saturday] night, it's hard not to get excited as a hockey fan. I think it was an unbelievable celebration of hockey. It's best on best. It's United States' best players against Canada's best players. There's familiarity on both sides, there's a mutual respect that exists on both sides, and there's also a tremendous amount of pride. And you can see how invested the players are to want to win. The emotional intensity of the game, the pace of play, the execution at such a high rate of speed – as a hockey fan, I don't know how you couldn’t get excited about that.
“I thought the event, it's great for our sport. It's great for opening eyes of potential opportunities moving forward on how we can create these types of events maybe a little bit more consistently. It's great for the sport itself. I think it could inspire another generation of young players to want to play the game, like some of the events that impacted my generation, whether it be the Miracle on Ice team in 1980. There's so many events like that that inspire the next generation of players.”
Now just imagine what the ratings would be for a rematch Thursday night, with a title on the line. The Americans will be there, having already clinched the top spot in the group stage. The Canadians still have some work to do. They need to beat Finland in regulation Monday afternoon to guarantee themselves a rematch. An overtime or shootout win would open the door for Sweden to go to the final instead if the Swedes beat the U.S. in regulation Monday night. A loss of any kind would end Canada’s tournament.