Tkachuk brothers propel Team USA to win over Finland in 4 Nations Face-Off

MONTREAL — For Team USA, it was a poor start and a grand Finnish. 

The Americans looked like they were in trouble early, letting up the opening goal and allowing Finland to control the tempo through two periods Thursday night. 

In the end, it was less of an escape than Team USA putting its foot down in a 6-1 victory to open its 4 Nations Face-Off, boosted by a dominant third period from both Tkachuk brothers, Brady and Matthew, joined together on a line by coach Mike Sullivan.

But it was not so simple, not so easy and not nearly as convincing as the final score suggested for the pre-tournament favorites. 

This game hung in the balance until early in the third when Juuse Saros let in a pair of soft goals that allowed Team USA to turn it into a rout — and a regulation win that means volumes in this short format.

Still, the Americans had better hope their last 20 minutes are much more indicative of what they can do on this best-on-best stage than their first 40. 

“This is gonna take time, and it’s a short tournament,” J.T. Miller said. “It takes, normally, time to get chemistry. Come up with some timely plays. The group did today.” 

That is true for all four teams in this tournament, but the chemistry inherent for the Brothers Tkachuk trumped the chemistry that the rest of Team USA was working to build in the end Thursday. 

Sullivan went to the line blender midway through this one, pairing up the Tkachuks on either side of Jack Eichel, switching up his defensive pairs and moving Kyle Connor to the third line with Matt Boldy and Miller. 

It worked well, as a tenuous 2-1 lead entering the third — Boldy’s goal late in the second having broken the tie — ballooned into a rout within 30 seconds of the period’s start. 

Fifteen seconds into the third, Matthew Tkachuk’s floater from above the left circle beat Saros clean for a power-play goal. 

Eleven seconds after that, Jake Guentzel scored through the Finnish netminder’s five-hole, again with no traffic in front. 

Brady Tkachuk got in on the action next, sliding in a backhand off Eichel’s feed for his second goal of the night, and Matthew got his second on the power play later in the period, with the game well in hand. 

“I think it was better than all the dreams that you have,” said Brady, who led the game with eight hits and got into it with Niko Mikkola early on. “Just for it to actually happen and for Matthew, it’s a big goal for our team as well. … I don’t really have the words to describe it right now.” 

Before the Tkachuks took things into their hands, though, this was teetering on disaster. 

On Thursday morning, Sullivan spoke about being a team in the complete sense of the word.

Until the third period that night, his team looked like one in need of more practice time, misplacing passes and going offside like a group that hasn’t played with one another. 

Of course, that’s just what they are. 

“We’re all new,” Charlie McAvoy said. “Everyone’s gonna play a little differently with different people. Maybe every shift, every other shift, it depends. You gotta find that chemistry as quick as you can. So I thought we really found it towards the end of the second.” 

With Team Canada and a hostile crowd awaiting Saturday, the learning curve Team USA underwent over 60 minutes Thursday must stay intact.

There can be no room for backsliding against a Canadian team that played high-flying hockey in its opener, 180 degrees removed from the grueling physical game USA and Finland put on 24 hours later. 

Aerosmith’s “Dream On” was blasting in the USA dressing room when reporters walked in. 

Dreams became reality for the Tkachuks on Thursday. 

Dreams can become reality for Team USA on Saturday.