Fans waving and wearing flags streamed into the TD Garden on Thursday night for the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off, a matchup between the United States and Canada that has taken on collateral importance in the wake of cross-border political animosity.
USA and Canada sweaters intermingled with the usual Boston Bruins jerseys in the building lobby in the hours before the game. With 90 minutes before the puck was to drop, everyone was still behaving — fist-bumping their countrymen as they lined up to buy souvenirs or get into the arena.
