Deen’s Daily: Canada vs USA for the 4 Nations Championship; MacKinnon Steps Up; Avs Practice Wednesday

Canada vs USA, the sequel, is coming up on Thursday. Nathan MacKinnon helps Canada get there. The Avalanche are returning to practice on Wednesday. Also, Jon Cooper compliments Sidney Crosby.

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — February 18.

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avalanche are set to practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday all at Family Sports. They’ll be without Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and MacKinnon for at least two of those days.

The trio of Avs and Team Canada defeated Finland 5-3 to set up a rematch vs USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship in Boston on Thursday.

Speaking of the Avalanche, how aggressive should they be at this year’s trade deadline? Read all about that in my weekly Monday Notebook.

Catch the latest episode of my podcast, Rinkside with Aarif Deen — Canada vs USA Rematch on Thursday | February 17, 2025

Around the NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Canada’s head coach gave Crosby a divine compliment after he captained the Canadians to a big win over Finland.

Boston Hockey Now: Brad Marchand is playing yet another big game at TD Gardens. This one’s a little bit different.

Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs miss Emil Heineman more than they probably thought they would.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Three Devils that need to step up before the playoffs.

NYI Hockey Now: Why the Winnipeg Jets could be the team to trade for Brock Nelson.

Ottawa Hockey Now: Three reasons to believe the Sens will make the postseason for the first time since 2017.

Vegas Hockey Now: Check out the latest Golden Knights mailbag, covering everything from the trade deadline to a potential playoff series against the Avalanche.