Elliotte Friedman brushes-off 4 Nations USA vs Canada clash's comparison to 2002, 2010 Olympics face-off

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman dove into Saturday’s USA vs Canada clash at the 4 Nations Face-Off during Monday’s edition of the “32 Thoughts” podcast on Sportsnet. Friedman and his co-host Kyle Bukauskas recapped and analyzed the electrifying tournament games.

Hockey writer Friedman ranked the recent game among the best contests between the two nations but said it couldn’t compare to their clashes during the 2002 and 2010 Olympics.

“That game on Saturday night ranks third,” Friedman said. “You have to put the gold medal games ahead of them, because those were just such massive games on a worldwide scale. You can't compare it. This was a round-robin game in a World Cup; not insignificant, but it doesn't compare to a gold medal game at the Olympics.” [8:16]

Friedman said that the game was nevertheless extremely exciting to watch.

“I had some people that say to me ‘oh the game wasn't that exciting after the fights.’ Get out of here. If you were in that building with that crowd, that game was a thriller,” Friedman said.

He added that the crowd’s excitement levels matched those of the fans during the Olympic games, even if the stakes weren’t that high.

“I was at the 2002 gold medal game; I was at the 2010 gold medal game. The fans were just as engaged. It's not as big a game, but it was no different a crowd,” Friedman said [9:02].

The USA defeated Canada 3-1 to secure their spot in the final of the tournament. This was the first time since 2010 that the USA had defeated Canada in an international hockey match.

The game was played in front of a hostile Canadian crowd amid geopolitical tensions with the US and saw three separate fights erupt within the opening minute.

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Friedman looking forward to the USA vs Canada rematch in 4 nations Face-Off final

The hockey analyst kicked off the podcast discussion by saying he “felt sorry for the Finns and the Swedes.”

“I think everybody wants to see Canada and the USA go at it one more time,” Friedman said.

“This lived up to the hype; beyond the hype. This exceeded the hype,” he added, speaking about Saturday’s game. [1:50]

Team USA has already secured a spot in the final. Canada and Finland have a chance to take the other spot, depending on the results of the final round-robin matches on Monday night at Boston’s TD Garden. Canada will face Finland, while the USA will play against Sweden.