The clashes between the Canada and USA hockey teams over the past week have captured the attention of a wider hockey audience. The first game between the two teams in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament saw fights break out as soon as the puck was dropped:
The first game finished with a 3-1 USA victory and the thrilling second clash, the tournament championship, took place on Thursday, with Canada winning 3-2 following an overtime winner by Connor McDavid:
Bettors tuned into the action in droves, and DraftKings revealed that it accepted more bets on the game than on any other hockey game in history.
A big reason why these international games garnered so much attention was that NHL franchises released players for the tournament. Teams haven’t typically allowed their stars to play in these events for the past decade, which dampened interest levels. The next big international event will be the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, and fans are already counting down the days.
NHL hopes to leverage the interest when the regular season action returns on Saturday
The NHL hopes to leverage the interest when the regular season resumes on Saturday. Many people with zero interest in hockey before the 4 Nations may dive into the sport on a more regular basis: