Canada's Connor McDavid, right, scores on United States goaltender Connor Hellebuyck during first period 4 Nations Face-Off hockey action in Montreal, on Feb. 15.Graham Hughes/The Canadian Press
They have come from near and far to take in Thursday’s championship game between the United States and Canada at the 4 Nations Cup. At a sports bar a slap shot from the main entrance to TD Garden, fans from Sweden and Canada filled half the tables.
The groundswell of excitement that surrounds the international best-on-best tournament organized by the National Hockey League, held during what is normally the league’s all-star break, has captured the attention of the sports world.
Television ratings are through the roof. Coverage – sparked by the three fights in the first nine seconds of play in the two countries’ Saturday meeting – has led the sports pages of traditional media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal and ESPN in ways it rarely, if ever, does.
That attention has squarely focused on the heightened tension between Canada and the United States as they prepare to renew their rivalry one more time in the home rink of the Boston Bruins.
Fans in Montreal loudly booed The Star-Spangled Banner, apparently out of disdain for tariffs and other political developments. Something similar could happen here. Let’s just say folks in Boston aren’t going to throw a tea party for the visitors.
It was minus-7 degrees and blustery, so few fans walked the streets the day before the big puck drop. They huddled indoors, quaffed a few and talked excitedly about what lies ahead.
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Four Newfoundlanders – Brian Broader, Carl Fennelly, Darcy Foley and Scott Ward – sat in a booth on Wednesday at Banners Kitchen and Tap, whose front door is right beside the famous bronze statue of Bobby Orr leaping as he celebrated his 1970 Stanley Cup-winning goal.
Orr is probably the greatest defenceman ever to play in the NHL and a proud supporter of Donald Trump. The U.S. President has received an invitation to attend Thursday’s title game from Bill Guerin, the general manager of the American squad at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but Wednesday reports suggested he would not be at TD Garden.
In the sports bar, there wasn’t much talk about politics.
“I don’t pay much attention to it to be honest,” Mr. Fennelly, who hails from Fermeuse, said. He works on an ocean tanker and has a tattoo of a lighthouse on his left arm.
Brian Broaders, from Fogo Island, doesn’t think there will be as many early fights as there were in Saturday’s game.
“It’s going to be intense with a lot of hard forechecking but neither team is going to want to get a penalty and hand their opponent a power play,” he said. “There is too much talent, but they’ll go back and forth a little for sure.”
The group’s plans for Thursday included downing a few pints before the cross-border skirmish, but not too many.
“We are going to try to keep it under control,” Mr. Broaders said. “We want to remember the game.”
A few booths down from them sat four Edmontonians, including two who caught a redeye, changed planes in Atlanta and arrived in Boston 13 hours later.
Brad Tutschek and his 10-year-son, Theo, decided to come at the last minute. Canada had to beat Finland on Monday to vie for the title, and did so.
“When they won, I said, ‘We’re going to the gold-medal game,’” Mr. Tutschek said. “It’s like a Stanley Cup final. Everyone is talking about last Saturday night.”
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He and his son joined Jeff Strank and his 10-year-old boy, Smith, who arrived in Boston earlier and watched the Canadians polish off the Finns. They were going to go home on Thursday but got tickets to the final game and extended their stay. The Stranks also went to Montreal to see Canada’s two games at the Bell Centre.
That’s where the crowd jeered the American national anthem.
“I’m not a fan of the booing,” Mr. Tutschek, who played in the Western Hockey League and at the University of Alberta, said. “It’s disrespectful.”
If Mr. Trump were to come to the final, Mr. Strank said, he would be welcome.
“Whether you like it or not, he is supporting his country,” he said. “If the final was in Montreal, I would expect [Prime Minister Justin Trudeau] to be there for the same reason.”
Another few booths away sat a half-dozen Swedes. Sweden finished third among the four teams despite a victory over the U.S. on Monday night. The group was trying to find tickets but there weren’t many available, and they were expensive.
On Wednesday night, online outlets were offering them for about US$900 to US$2,500 a piece.
“It’s going to be a big show,” Irene Johnson said. “I don’t know what to expect on Thursday. “I wonder if they are going to fight as much and if the Canadians will fight back.”
Ms. Johnson and her partner, Torbjorn Petterrsson, went to Montreal as well. She said she wasn’t taken aback by the booing.
“I’m not surprised,” she said. “We know why they are doing it.”