As the NBA was putting on another played-out skills competition, the NHL was showcasing something that holds plenty of meaning for a lot of people on and off the ice.
Tonight’s Four Nations Faceoff which has taken the place of the traditional NHL All-Star Game pitted bitter rivals the United States of America and Canada against each other tonight from the Bell Centre in Montreal.
The game featured three fights within the first nine seconds and was competitive throughout the night. Ultimately, the U.S. team emerged victorious with a score of 3-1, securing their place in the Championship Game next Thursday night at the TD Garden in Boston.
“That was as organic as it gets, and it was, I guess, 10 years of no international hockey exhaled in a minute and a half,” Canada head coach Jon Cooper said, per Stephen Whyno of The Associated Press.
“I didn’t see anybody running for the exits,” Cooper said. “People are going to talk about this.”
It certainly seems like people should be talking about this, specifically Adam Silver of the NBA and Rob Manfred of the MLB. They should be leading discussions within their respective sports and ask themselves how we could do something like this because let’s be real… Do we really need another meaningless NBA All-Star Game or forgettable Midsummer Classic?
