4 Nations Final: USA vs. Canada 'Most-Bet Hockey Game Of The Year'

By Bill Speros

Feb 20th, 2025 7:33 PM EDT

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The Cold War between the United States and Canada goes nuclear on Thursday night at TD Garden in Boston.

The 4 Nations final between the 2 nations has morphed into a Game 7/Olympic Gold Medal-type final. Thanks to political developments off the ice, the crowd in Montreal added intensity to this matchup by booing the United States national anthem.

The patriotic fervor surrounding Thursday night’s final (8, ESPN) has also translated into the legal betting markets.

"We expect the USA-Canada final to be the most-bet hockey game of the year. Canada winning would be a good outcome for the sportsbook,” said BetMGM Senior Trader Christian Cipollini.

The Canadians opened as slight favorites in the final at the top sports betting apps, hovering around -120 on the moneyline until Wednesday.

Thursday’s game has been moved to the eventual pick 'em. That movement comes despite the absence of injured Team USA defenseman Charlie McAvoy on Thursday. His hit on Connor McDavid on Saturday set the tone for Team USA’s physical dominance of the Canadians.

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Fights Trigger Viewing, Betting Interest

Here it is. World premiere of Tonight's bone chilling pregame open on ESPN.8pm eastern. Canada vs USA🇨🇦🇺🇸❤️ pic.twitter.com/0rPf0CZRTr— BucciOT.Com (@Buccigross) February 20, 2025

The first game between these 2 teams on Saturday featured 3 separate fights in the first 9 seconds. Clips of the fights spread across social media. The game ended up drawing 10 million viewers across the United States and Canada. And it was the most-bet game hockey game of the year at BetMGM.

Public betting sentiment on Team USA-Team Canada final Thursday has tilted toward the Americans. Thus far, 52% of the moneyline and 66% of the puck line handle is backing Team USA.

The BetMGM puck line has Team Canada +1.5 at -275, and Team USA -1.5 at +220.

The total is 5.5 goals. There, 70% of the handle is on the over.

The trading market Kalshi, which offers markets on a variety of items in politics, culture, sports, and business, opened a market on the 4 Nations winner. As of Thursday, more than $303,000 worth of trades had been made. The USA is a slight favorite there at 52 cents per share vs. 49 cents for Canada.

The Americans were decided underdogs on Saturday before winning 3-1.

That game was Sidney Crosby’s first loss in 26 tries against Team USA international competition. A run that began with the Gold Medal game in the 2010 Olympics.

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About the Author

Bill Speros

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Bill is an award-winning journalist and editor whose career includes stops at USA Today Sports Network / Golfweek, Cox Media, ESPN, Orlando Sentinel and Denver Post. He's been covering the North American regulated gambling market for almost a decade and has his finger on the pulse for all industry news involving sportsbooks, online casinos, prediction markets and more. Bill placed his first bet at age 11, and his first job was as a paper boy delivering the Boston Herald and Boston Globe. By age 16, he was playing blackjack and getting comped drinks on the Las Vegas Strip. When home, his weekend rotation included trips to Wonderland Greyhound Park and Raynham Greyhound Park. After 30 years in legacy media, Bill wedded his passion for journalism and storytelling with a lifetime of wagering by working at Gambling.com.