Canada beats Finland 5-3 at the 4 Nations Face-Off

MONTREAL – The table has been set. Canada will face the United States in the final on Thursday.

With the 4 Nations Face-Off shifting to Boston for the second leg, fans descended on TD Garden to take in the Canada-Finland matchup on Monday.

The Finns gave Canada a little scare late in the game, but the Canadiens held on for a 5-3 victory. The win booked Canada a ticket to the 4 Nations Face-Off final against the United States.

Joel Armia returned to the lineup for Finland, while Samuel Montembeault did not dress for a third straight contest.

Here’s a brief recap of the game:

CANADA 5 – 3 FINLAND

Canada scored three unanswered goals in the opening frame, courtesy of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Brayden Point.

MacKinnon added a fourth marker for Canada at 5:03 of the second period, which led to a goalie change for Finland. Juuse Saros came in relief of Kevin Lankinen to finish the game.

Canada thought the game was in the bag as the minutes wound down, but Esa Lindell and Mikael Granlund (2x) reduced the lead to one goal. Laine picked up an assist on Granlund’s first goal.

Captain Sidney Crosby then scored into an empty net to secure the win for Canada and to end Finland’s tournament.

What’s next?

Canada and the United States will face off in a rematch, this time to crown the winner of the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday night at TD Garden. Game time is at 8:00 p.m. ET. You can catch all the action on Sportsnet, TVA Sports, and ESPN.