Canada appears set to scratch Jarvis again, stick with Binnington vs. USA
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Team Canada appears set to stick with a winning lineup for Thursday's 4 Nations final against Team USA.
Canada deployed the same lines with Jordan Binnington in the starter's net during Wednesday's practice.
Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis, who was scratched for Monday's 5-3 win over Finland, appears set to sit once again. Jarvis had one assist over the first two games of the tournament, logging exactly 11:07 of ice time against Sweden and the United States.
Travis Konecny was scratched for Canada's 3-1 loss to the United States on Saturday, but returned to the lineup Monday. He skated on the fourth line with Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett, who was scratched for the opening game against Sweden, on Wednesday.
Connor McDavid centred a top line with Brayden Point and Mark Stone, while Sidney Crosby worked on the wing beside Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Reinhart. Mitch Marner was with Tampa Bay Lightning teammates Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel on the third line.
Devon Toews was once again with Colorado Avalanche teammate Cale Makar in the top pairing defence. Winnipeg Jets star Josh Morrissey paired with Colton Parayko, with Travis Sanheim and Drew Doughty paired together.
Canada and team United States will fight Thursday for the title of champion in a tournament featuring best-on-best NHL talent for the first time since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
The two heated rivals wasted no time renewing hostilities on Saturday, with three fights in the first nine seconds of the game. After American forward Matthew Tkachuk suggested the idea behind that kind of start stemmed from a group chat, Canada's Hagel appeared to throw the first shot through the media on Tuesday.
"We're out there playing for a flag, not the cameras," said Hagel, who fought Tkachuk after the opening faceoff. "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."
Matthew Tkachuk said Wednesday that Team USA wasn't interested in anything the Canadians were saying, but responded back to Hagel's comments.
"I mean maybe their team doesn't like each other if they don't have group chats," Tkachuk said.
Canada had two power-plays in the first period amid the chaotic start, while the Americans had one. No penalties were called in the final two frames.