Ex-Team Canada star says country will have 'national emergency' if team loses to US in 4 Nations final

"It would be safe to say, 'Yes,' it would be a national emergency if we lose that game on Thursday," Bissonnette said. 

The former player and current TV analyst suggested that a loss would cause countless Canadians to doubt the competence of their national team, considering the stakes. 

"For a week straight everybody's going to argue about the lineup decisions, there would be conversations about blowing up Hockey Canada and restructuring the whole thing. There will be dialogue about how youth hockey is far too expensive, how much it is to rent ice, how much it is to buy equipment, about how the common man has been weeded out," Bissonnette said. 

The stakes for Thursday's game have been raised amid physical hostility between the teams throughout the tournament and geopolitical tension between the two countries in recent weeks. 

It started on Feb. 13 when Canada fans in Montreal booed the U.S. national anthem. The tension stemmed from President Donald Trump's recent threats to issue tariffs on Canada while also suggesting the country should become America's 51st state. 

The U.S. went on to win that game, 3-1. 

The Canadian national anthem was then booed at TD Garden in Boston before a 4 Nations game between Canada and Finland. Canada went on to win that game to clinch a matchup against the U.S. in the championship game. 

"I think a little bit of everything. Canada-U.S. is a huge rivalry in hockey," he said. "I think there was a little bit of a political flare to it. It's just the time that we're in. I think our guys used that as inspiration. If you let it get the better of you, then you're in trouble. But I really do think the players used it as inspiration."

Guerin touted the intensity of play between the two teams, calling it the "highest level of hockey ever played."

Guerin even said Trump should attend Thursday's game. 

"We would love it if President Trump was in attendance. We have a room full of proud American players and coaches and staff," he said. "And listen, we're just trying to represent our country the best way we can."