The 4 Nations Face-Off Final takes place Thursday night at TD Garden in Boston as Team USA and Team Canada battle for a championship. The puck drops at 8 p.m., and the game can be viewed on ESPN/ESPN+/Disney+.
We’ll highlight some of the best player props to focus upon, either for standalone wagers or for you to use in a same-game, multi-leg, and/or cross-sport parlay.
Let’s get started.
Thursday’s Best 4 Nations Final Prop Bets
(Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook)
Anytime Goal Scorer – Nathan MacKinnon (+210)
The Nova Scotia native MacKinnon was good for two goals in the final round-robin game against Finland on Monday, a 5-3 victory. MacKinnon ended up with three shots on goal, a plus-3 rating, and the game-winning goal. He also scored in the 4-Nations opener against Sweden. That’s three goals in three games in this tournament, but he did not score against Connor Hellebuyck and Team USA on Saturday.
However, while Hellebuyck has been locking it down in this tourney so far, MacKinnon did beat him in the most recent game for the Colorado Avalanche against the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 22 at Ball Arena in Denver. For the opportunity to more than double up, the red-hot MacKinnon is worth a roll of the dice in this final.
Parlay Odds: +210
Player 1+ Points – Zach Werenski (+116)
The standout rearguard for the Columbus Blue Jackets, Werenski has managed five assists across three 4-Nations Face-off Tournament games, posting at least one assist in each outing. He managed an assist with a minus-1 rating and two shots on goal in 13:47 of TOI against Canada last Saturday night.
At plus-money, Werenski is a strong play, especially at plus-money, to get onto the stat sheet with at least one goal or an assist.
Parlay Odds: +116
Alternate Total Goals – Under 4.5 Goals (+210)
In the first meeting at Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday, Team USA picked up the 3-1 win over Canada as the Under cashed. With the stakes much, much higher, it’s a good idea to go low on the total again on Thursday night in Boston.
We had Team Canada outshoot Team USA by a 26-to-23 margin, while the Americans outhit Canada 34-to-29. We had a total of just three minor penalties and power-play opportunities, with USA going 0-for-1, and Canada going 0-for- 2.
Jake Guentzel scored a pair of goals for Team USA, leveling the score 1-1 midway through the first period while depositing one into the empty net late in the third. Jordan Binnington of Canada let just two goals in on 22 shots, while Hellebuyck coughed up a single goal on 26 shots. Look for the tendies to be on top of their games again on Thursday in this title bout. That makes the Under on the alternate line quite attractive at this price point.
Parlay Odds: +210
Connor Hellebuyck – Total Saves – Over 27.5 (-102)
Hellebuyck has been the man so far in between the pipes for Team USA. He backstopped Team USA to a 6-1 win in the 4 Nations opener last Thursday, kicking aside 20 of the 21 shots he faced. Against Team Canada on Saturday, he was equally superb, stopping all but one of the 26 shots he faced.
Hellebuyck was given a rest against Sweden on Monday in a game that meant absolutely nothing with a title game spot already locked in. Jake Oettinger didn’t do poorly, but he wasn’t red-hot like the Michigander, Hellebuyck, either. As mentioned, Team Canada took 26 shots against Hellebuyck in the first meeting, tasking him with 25 saves. We should see a much larger workload, especially if Team Canada is down late.
Parlay Odds: -102
Canada Total Goals – Under 2.5 Goals (+102)
Again, we don’t need to rehash what Hellebuyck has done, but he has been tremendous with the 1.00 GAA and .957 SV% in two games so far. Canada managed just a single goal in the first game against Team USA in Montreal. Yes, Team Canada did score four times against Sweden in the opener win in OT, and it bounced Finland 5-3. However, neither of these teams has nearly the caliber tendy of Hellebuyck. It is going to be tough for Canada to get to three or more goals.
Parlay Odds: +102
4 Nations MVP – Connor Hellebuyck (+250)
I expect Team USA to get the victory, and raise a trophy at TD Garden in Boston. If so, Hellebuyck will be front and center of the success. And, after having allowed just two goals in the first two starts, he is the odds-on favorite to win tournament Most Valuable Player honors.
Prop Odds: +250
