Canada stuns USA 3-2 in OT to win 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game: Live updates and reaction
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Connor McDavid scored the game-winning goal in overtime for Canada, lifting them to a 3-2 victory over Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game.
Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring for Canada early in the first period, firing a wrister through traffic and beating Connor Hellebuyck up high. Team USA tied the game late in the first after Brady Tkachuk cleaned up an Auston Matthews wraparound attempt.
The United States took the lead near the midway point of the second period as Jake Sanderson flicked in a rebound to cap off a hectic sequence. Canada equalized with six minutes remaining in the second on a precise Sam Bennett shot from close range.
After a scoreless third period, this intense finale went to overtime where Connor McDavid became the hero. He broke free in the slot before beating Hellebuyck and stunning the Americans.
I asked Brady Tkachuk about Matthew’s injury. It doesn’t sound good for the Florida Panthers: “Obviously he battles through absolutely everything, and, yeah, I don’t think it’s too good. I guess we’ll have to wait and see what ends up happening, but I know he was really disappointed.”
Criticized prior to tonight for his lack of impact in this tournament, Auston Matthews left it all on the ice for Team USA against Canada.
Matthews registered two assists and won 11-of-19 faceoffs in 20:47 minutes of ice time. He became just the second American to register multiple assists in a winner-take-all game in an NHL international tournament, joining Brian Leetch who had two assists in Game 3 of the 1996 World Cup of Hockey final.
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Tournament MVP Nathan MacKinnon revealed what made tonight’s championship game against the United States so special.
“It was a high-stakes game and it put a lot of the best players against each other,” he said in a postgame interview on ESPN.
The Canadians lost 3-1 to Team USA in round-robin play but exacted revenge tonight in a big way to lift the inaugural tournament trophy.
“We played well in the first meeting, but that was a crazy game,” MacKinnon said. “We didn’t know that there would be fighting like that but that is the beauty of hockey. (Team USA) could have won tonight, they had their chances but Jordan (Binnington) made saves, and Connor (McDavid) came up clutch there with the goal.”
United States forward Brady Tkachuk voiced his frustration following his team’s overtime loss to rivals Canada.
“It just sucks,” Tkachuk said to reporters after the game. “It’s going to give us great motivation for years to come.”
Mitch Marner played a vital role in both of Canada’s overtime wins at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Marner scored the winning goal against Sweden in the Canadians’ opening game of the round-robin stage. The Toronto Maple Leafs star then capped off the competition by setting up Connor McDavid for the winner against the United States tonight.
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Sidney Crosby spoke to ESPN after Canada’s win: “It’s special, it’s a great feeling to wear the Canada jersey.”
The 37-year-old won his fifth senior international trophy with Canada, and spoke about the importance of playing with the current group of players.
“It’s been a long time, any time you can play for your country is huge,” Crosby said. “It’s been fun to play with a special group of players and makes you want to come and be part of this.”
Sidney Crosby’s international resume:
🏅 – 2005 world juniors
🏅 – 2010 Olympics
🏅 – 2014 Olympics
🏅 – 2015 world championship
🏆 – 2016 World Cup
🏆 – 2025 4 Nations
Team Canada 🇨🇦 is 48-6 with him in uniform.
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A more positive way for Team USA to view tonight’s result:
Team USA was without two of their three top skaters (Hughes, M. Tkachuk) and it still took overtime and Binnington being possessed by Dominik Hasek for Canada to eke out a win.
We’ll be doing this all over again in Milan next year.
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A stirring moment for Team Canada as they get to listen to their national anthem as tournament champions.
Singing O Canada loud and proud after winning the #4Nations Face-Off. 🇨🇦
What a feeling. pic.twitter.com/81wQ11f1w5
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Joe C.: A great great game. Those boys left it all on the ice. Both sides should be proud. And indeed. Cannot wait til Olympics. And frankly hope this becomes the 6 Nations with Russia and Czech Republic.
Charlie H.: Congratulations Canada. Great game; great format.
Mario C.: Binnington not winning Player of the Game is absolutely insane.
Brennan L.: In international hockey, the team with Crosby wins.
Cam S.: Marner was sneaky good this tournament. Hope the Leafs give him the huge bag he deserves.
Mike L.: This game should not dictate the championship. This should have been a best-of-three series.
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The Athletic’s Fluto Shinzawa has brought us his takeaway’s from tonight’s thrilling game. Follow the link below to check out his analysis.
GO FURTHER
How Connor McDavid, Jordan Binnington lifted Canada to 4 Nations title over U.S.: Takeaways
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Pretty incredible night for hockey, no matter who you were cheering for.
McDavid got his moment on a night when he didn’t have a great game. Funny thing, Crosby didn’t have a great game in the 2010 Golden Goal game, either. But he certainly scored when it mattered, just as the heir to his throne did in this one.
The more we see these teams play against one another, the better.
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Team USA is left to wonder if things would have been different if they had Quinn Hughes, Charlie McAvoy and a playable Matthew Tkachuk tonight, but that’s hockey, right? The proverbial war of attrition. Nobody’s ever won the Stanley Cup at 100 percent.
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Canada 3, United States 2 (Overtime)
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Connor McDavid spoke to ESPN after delivering the winning goal for Canada: “It was great to just see the reaction and know what this win means to us. It’s not an Olympic gold but it means so much to our team. We battled so hard and found a way.”
McDavid also praised the performances from all four countries in the inaugural edition of the 4 Nations Face-Off, saying he hopes the sport added more fans.
“Four great countries going at it and we went against an amazing American team tonight,” he said. “It’s a great game, a great sport and I hope we put on a good show and gained some fans. You can’t ask for a better show than that.”
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I’m happy for Jordan Binnington. This tournament has been like his whole career — doubted and comes out on top with a huge performance in a huge game.
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Slavin is immense. J.T. Miller with the defensive play of his life. Guentzel’s shiftiness was terrifying. Tkachuk bros are rockstars. Matthews, Eichel are brilliant. Hellebuyck is nigh unbeatable. Sanderson, Werenski, Faber were lights out.
Stick tap to Team USA. What a performance
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Nathan MacKinnon joins this list of players to be named MVP at an NHL international tournament.
Pretty good company to keep!
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Nathan MacKinnon is named MVP of the 4 Nations Face-Off. MacKinnon led all players with four goals in the tournament.
You can’t take our country — and you can’t take our game.
Canada beats United States 3-2 in overtime
Matthew Tkachuk injury update
Matthews shines despite loss
MacKinnon: ‘It was a high stakes game’
Brady Tkachuk on USA loss: ‘It just sucks’
Marner delivers in overtime again
Crosby: ‘It’s a great feeling to wear the Canada jersey’
Team USA isn’t going anywhere
O Canada
Your reaction to tonight’s game
Instant reaction to an instant classic
McDavid follows in Crosby’s footsteps
Team USA missed key players
Game stats
McDavid: ‘It means so much to our team’
Binnington comes up clutch again
A word for Team USA
MacKinnon among elite company
MacKinnon named MVP
Justin Trudeau celebrates Canada’s win
4 Nations Face-Off final game time tonight: How to watch Team USA vs Canada in Boston
The United States and Canadian national hockey teams square off Thursday night in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game on Thursday night.
The highly-anticipated finale will be a rematch of Saturday’s intense group stage battle between the two neighboring countries who now have even more of a rooting interest against each other in part because of President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about annexing Canada and the proposed tariffs against the USA’s northern neighbor.
Powered by a game-winning goal from Detroit Red Wings star and captain Dylan Larkin, the United States won the group stage matchup, 3-1, in Montreal on Saturday.
The 4 Nations Face-Off tournament replaced the traditional NHL All-Star break. It is a round-robin tournament that featured the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland. Larkin and Sweden’s Lucas Raymond were the two Red Wings to participate in the tournament. The Red Wings resume the second half of their season on Saturday at home against the Minnesota Wild.
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After the NHL barred its players from competing in the last two Winter Olympics, international hockey again has the “best-on-best” facing off against each other. It was the first time the United States had beaten Canada in a best-on-best matchup since the round robin at the 2010 Olympics.
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Here is all the information on how to watch Larkin and the United States face off against Canada on Thursday night.
Odds as of Thursday morning via BetMGM.
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Mike Eruzione dons Johnny Gaudreau USA jersey ahead of 4 Nations final against Canada
1980 USA Olympic gold medal champion Michael Eruzione and former NHL players Mike Modano and Joe Pavelski discuss the 4 Nations final between the United States and Canada on ‘The Will Cain Show.’
Boston’s TD Garden was the place to be on Thursday night, and a blast from the past got the 4 Nations final crowd even more jacked up than it already was.
The USA and Canadian hockey teams are back on the ice for the 4 Nations Face-Off championship, five days after three fights in the first nine seconds occurred in their first game in best-on-best format since 2016.
The two teams were the top point-getters in round-robin play (Canada owned the tiebreaker over Sweden), and are meeting again in Boston.
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Former USA hockey player Mike Eruzione on the ice prior to the start of the during the first period against Team Canada during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images)
Before the game, two greats of the sport were celebrated. Wayne Gretzky and Mike Eruzione served as honorary captains for their respective countries.
Eruzione’s presence alone gets any American crowd going, as he was the captain of the 1980 Miracle on Ice team. But he gave the crowd something extra to cheer about.
Eruzione came onto the ice rocking the jersey of Johnny Gaudreau, the late NHL All-Star who, along with his younger brother, were killed by an alleged drunk driver in August.
‘MIRACLE ON ICE’ HERO MIKE ERUZIONE ON NATIONAL ANTHEM BOOS AT 4 NATIONS: ‘I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED’
Gaudreau played for the United States in the World Juniors in 2013, winning the gold medal that year. He also participated in the Ice Hockey World Championships five times.
Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) and former hockey player Mike Eruzione and former hockey player Wayne Gretzky and Team Canada forward Sidney Crosby (87) during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images)
Gaudreau’s presence has been felt among this year’s 4 Nations club, as a USA jersey bearing his name and No. 13 has often been hung in the locker room.
Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Johnny Gaudreau (13) plays the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the second period at Bell Centre. (David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports)
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Unlike Saturday, there were no fights at the puck drop. But, similarly to that contest, Canada got out to a 1-0 lead.
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