3 mistakes Team Canada must avoid to avenge prior defeat against USA at 4 Nations Face-Off

Team Canada lost to Team USA in the round-robin phase but will have a rematch in the championship game on Thursday.

Canada lost 3-1 in a matchup where they made some errors. Ahead of the finals, here are three mistakes Team Canada must avoid.

3 mistakes Team Canada must avoid in 4 Nations Championship

#1, Weak goals

Entering the tournament, the biggest question about Team Canada was its goaltending. Jordan Binnington has started every game and has been decent

However, he has allowed a "weak" goal in each matchup, including one from Jake Guentzel. Had Binnington not allowed that goal, that game would have been 1-1 and the result could've been different.

Despite the "weak" goals, Canada coach Jon Cooper has full confidence in Binnington.

"Not difficult at all. Listen, the kid has played great for us," Cooper said on Monday, via Hockey News. "He's given us a chance to win. If you can limit an opponent to two goals or less in a game, it should give you a chance to win, and he's done that for us. He did it for us the other night. He's given us a chance to win the last two games, and unfortunately, it didn't happen, but we gotta give him a little run support."

With how good Connor Hellebuyck is, Canada can't afford to concede any "weak" goals as it will be hard to chase the U.S.

#2, No bad penalties

Canada and the USA have potent powerplays so not allowing either team to have one will be key.

Team USA is expected to play a physical game led by the Tkachuk brothers and will try to get a reaction out of Canada. After the whistle, Canada can't afford to retaliate or take a bad penalty.

A bad penalty could lead to a power-play goal which could be the difference in this game given how evenly matched these two teams are.

#3, Sticking with the same lines

In a championship game, Team Canada and Jon Cooper can't be afraid to shake up the lines early and often.

Cooper has done a good job changing the lines throughout the tournament. Early on, if a player doesn't have it, Cooper should sit him or change up the lines to find players who'll create.