Team Canada vs. Team USA final: 3 biggest storylines heading into 4 Nations championship game

Team Canada will rematch against Team USA in the 4 Nations championship game on Thursday. The USA beat Canada 3-1 in the round-robin game on Saturday.

Heading into the championship game on Thursday in Boston, here are the three storylines to watch out.

Canada vs USA 4 Nations final: 3 biggest storylines

#1. Will there be any fights?

Canada vs USA started out with a bang as there were three fights in the first nine seconds.

Right at the opening puck drop, Matthew Tkachuk fought Brandon Hagel followed by Brady Tkachuk fighting Sam Bennett, and then JT Miller fighting Colton Parayko.

After the game, Matthew and Brady revealed they had a group chat with Miller to set up the fights. Hagel then made a bold comment.

"We're out there playing for a flag, not the cameras," Hagel said, via NHL.com. "That's the part of Canada we have in [the dressing room]. We don't need to initiate anything.

"We don't need any group chats going on. We're going out there playing our game, giving it everything and, like I said, doing it for our country. We're just going to play as hard as we can and do it for the flag."

After the three fights, there were no more fights. But given this is the championship game, will there be any?

#2. How much does Makar mean to Canada?

Cale Makar is one of the best players in the NHL and Team Canada's best defenseman.

In the round-robin game against the USA, Makar didn't play due to an illness. Makar will be in the lineup on Thursday, so how much does he mean to Canada? Is Makar the difference between Canada losing and winning?

#3. Can the USA pull it off?

The USA and Canada were co-favorites entering the tournament, but many thought the USA finally had a better roster. Canada still has the best talent, but the entire team and goaltending in the USA are better.

It was a matter of time until the USA caught Canada in hockey given USA has so many more people. Is this the tournament where the USA finally wins it all?