U.S.-Canada rematch must-see culmination of 4 Nations Face-Off

BOSTON -- The driving distance between Winnipeg and Boston is 1,763 miles, much of it on snow-covered highways through seemingly endless forests.

For a group of friends of Canada forward Seth Jarvis, it didn't matter.

Nothing was going to stop them from attending the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game between Canada and the United States at TD Garden on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; Disney+, ESPN+, ESPN, SN, TVAS).

Not blizzards. Not icy roads. And certainly not the cancelled flight that was supposed to fly them here for the game.

“When that happened, five of them piled into an SUV and drove down here," Jarvis said Thursday morning. “Thirty hours. Yeah, I think that's what the drive was. They did it straight. They switched off (the driving)."

Whatever it took, they were not going to miss this one.

“These are my buddies since 6-, 7-years-old, since I started playing hockey," Jarvis said. “These are the guys who are basically family …

“It shows how crazy Canadians are, I guess. It means a lot to everybody. And that's just an example of it."

Told of the odyssey completed by the Jarvis' pals, Canada coach Jon Cooper shook his head.

“It shows how much this sport and these players, how much it means to them," he said.

Not just for Canadians, either.

This game, this tournament, has transcended the sport. Many United States players have discussed how friends and acquaintances, normally casual fans, have been magnetized to the event, culminating with the championship matchup that could be the most-watched hockey game in history.

“I think this tournament has had a huge impact on hockey, certainly in the United States, without a question in North America, but maybe the world," U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said. “These best-on-best tournaments, I think, bring out the best of the best. And the commitment, the investment that all these teams have displayed every night, in my mind, has been an unbelievable celebration of hockey.

“From a hockey purist or a hockey fan in general, it's hard not to get excited about what we're witnessing. I would envision tonight will be the pinnacle of that with Team USA and Canada competing for the championship."

The magnitude of the tournament has even caught the attention of stars from other sports.

Retired NFL defensive lineman JJ Watt played hockey from age 3 to 13 while growing up in Wisconsin. On Thursday, he took to his X account, @JJWatt, to express how great the tournament has been.

“It's just incredible how much of a home run 4 Nations has been for the NHL and hockey in general," Watt wrote. “Friends who never watched a hockey game in their lives reaching out asking what the plan is for tonight's game, what food we're ordering, etc.

“Definition of growing the game."

In two hours, the number of likes on X was more than 28,000 and growing.

Just like the sport.