The occasion is rare when a big sporting event matches the hype these days. But it can be argued that the NHL/NHLPA extravaganza that is the 4 Nations Faceoff has far exceeded anyone’s expectations.

All the credit for that goes to the players who, in the midst of a grueling 82-game league schedule, have chosen to throw their hearts and souls into this competition, highlighted thus far by Saturday’s USA-Canada game that was kicked off by three fights in the first nine seconds of the US’s defensively dominant 3-1 win in Montreal.

The tournament shifted to Boston for Sunday practices and media availabilities ahead of Monday’s doubleheader (Canada vs. Finland, 1 p.m.; USA vs. Sweden, 8 p.m.).

While Team USA has already clinched a place in the championship game, Canada needs a win in any fashion over Finland to guarantee the dream rematch. We can only hope that happens.

One way or another, there will be a winner crowned on Thursday, delivering bragging rights to the nation who is victorious. But in the aftermath of Saturday’s intense rivalry game between the US and Canada, nations that suddenly seem to be adversarial beyond the sport, the real winner in this tournament is the game of hockey.

Canadian coach Jon Cooper said that he’d gotten a lot of texts about the game from the usual suspects, but it was the ones from the “unusual suspects” that opened his eyes.

“I have no idea what the TV ratings were but from the group of people that were texting me and talking about this game, the audience had to have been vast. I think (it was) the combination of everything,” said Cooper. “The naysayers, you can say whatever you want about fighting. That was what ignited the game. And then when both teams flexed and nobody backed down, a hockey game broke out and it was a fantastic hockey game. When you have the best players in the world not only trying to score but also actually checking, this is what we get. So you’re holding your breath every time there’s a potential scoring chance because you don’t know if it’s going to be the last one. I thought the game is in a better place because (Saturday) night’s game existed. It was disappointing that we weren’t on the right end of it. But the characters, the personalities on both teams really came to the forefront… There’s lots of great sports and I don’t want to put us in a corner. But it’s a pretty brilliant game with speed, grace and toughness and swag and all those things combined in one that can bring 22,000 people to a frenzy. The hockey was phenomenal to be a part of.”

This is the first time in nine years we’ve had a best-on-best hockey tournament, the last time being the 2016 World Cup of Hockey when Canada was far and away the dominant team. While the opening games were very good, Saturday’s US-Canada game produced what American defenseman Adam Fox called “a playoff game on steroids.”

“That was a long time coming for USA playing Canada,” said Fox.

American coach Mike Sullivan believes Saturday’s game and those like it present a great opportunity for the sport, especially in the US where some fertile ground is just now being harvested.

“I think the potential is boundless,” said Sullivan. “When you watch a game like the game that went on (Saturday) night, it’s hard not to get excited as a hockey fan. I think it was an unbelievable celebration of hockey. It’s best-on-best. It’s the United States’ best players and it’s Canada’s best players. It’s familiarity on both sides. There’s a mutual respect that exists on both sides and there’s also a tremendous amount of pride. And you can see how invested the players are to want to win. The emotional intensity of the game, the pace of play, the execution at such a high rate of speed. As a hockey fan, I don’t know how you couldn’t get excited about that. I thought the event was great for our sport, it’s great for opening eyes for potential opportunities moving forward on how we can create these types of events, maybe a little more consistently. It’s great for the sport itself. It could inspire another generation of young players to want to play the game, like some of the events that impacted my generation, whether it be the Miracle on Ice team in 1980. There are so many events like that that inspire the next generation of players. You look at the growth of hockey in the United States over the last 10-15 years, it’s been remarkable. And we’re producing players in the United States out of non-traditional hockey markets that are at the highest level of the game. Auston Matthews is from Arizona. We have players coming out of Florida and non-typical hockey markets. That’s the impact that events like this have.” …

Cooper, the Tampa Bay Lightning coach, and Brad Marchand have been fierce rivals in the past, but Cooper raved about the intangibles that the Bruins captain has brought in what so far has been a limited role.

“Love him. I can’t say enough great things about him,” said Cooper. “Energy, passion. He’s one of the elder statesmen on this team and he seems to find the fountain of youth any time he comes into one of these tournaments. So many players on our team are new to this kind of environment. We’ve got Sid (Crosby) and (Drew) Doughty, but Marchy is right there and those are the guys who are bringing all these young guys under their wing and there’s been nobody better at it than him. He’s one of the guys that everybody turns to when everything’s under fire. Even down the stretch in games, when we were tied against Sweden, in overtime, down against the US, the loudest on the bench pumping everyone up is Brad Marchand… His heart’s the shape of a maple leaf.” …

Cale Makar, who had to sit out Canada’’s game because of illness, skated on Sunday and said he’ll make a decision on Monday on whether he’s strong enough to play against Finland. He still seemed crushed that he had to make the decision to sit out Saturday.

“Incredibly hard,” said Makar. “Obviously you grow up as a kid dreaming about that game, especially being played on Canadian soil. It’s probably one of the toughest decisions I’ve ever had to make and hopefully I don’t ever have to make it again.” …

Sullivan did not have an update on Matthew Tkachuk, who did not finish Saturday’s for what’s believed to be a lower body injury. With the US already through to the title game, it would be surprising if he suited up against Sweden. …

Jordan Binnington has played both games for Canada, but Cooper would not divulge who would go against the US if Canada plays them Thursday. …

Swedish coach Sam Hallam said he’d make a game-day decision on his netminder. In the Swedes’ loss to the Finns on Saturday, Linus Ullmark replaced an ill Filip Gustavsson.