We provide a detailed analysis of the opening night for the Four Nations Face-Off, an international NHL competition replacing the traditional all-star game

The United States began its 4 Nations Face-Off campaign with a decisive 6-1 win over Finland in Montreal.

It was a close, hard-fought game between the United States and Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal...for two periods. In a tournament featuring the best of the best, you would expect the closeness of the contest to carry over into the final stanza.

MONTREAL — Team Finland was in good shape. The Finns started Thursday’s third period down 2-1. But Team USA promptly turned a one-goal game into a 6-1 rout. Fifteen seconds into the third, during a power play that carried over from the previous period because of an Olli Määttä hooking penalty,