Hockey Canada dominated the 4 Nations Face-Off, building on their 2016 triumph at the last World Cup of Hockey. In the final game, they held the United States of America to account for a 1-3 group defeat, winning 3-2 after Connor McDavid's goal in the ninth minute of overtime.
"I believe all of Canada is proud because every player in the booth is proud to be Canadian," said the coach of the winners Jon Cooper. "Did we need this win? Not just us as a team, but all of Canada needed it. This win is for over 40 million people."
The winners also scored a goal at Boston's TD Garden Nathan MacKinnon, later named tournament MVP, and Sam Bennett, with two assists from Mitchell Marner. The big hero of the team captain Sidney Crosby was also goalie Jordan Binnington, who had 31 saves.
Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson scored for the defeated Americans, who were ultimately unlucky to turn a 0:1 game into a 2:1 game. He had two assists. Auston Matthews. Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 24 saves.
"For me personally it was an honour to lead this team. But we certainly have nothing to be ashamed of. This team has character and the right mentality. This is an extra experience for him that he will be able to capitalize on in the future. I'm sure he'll pick up success in the future," said the United States head coach Mike Sullivan.
USA - Canada 3:2 in OT (1:1, 1:1, 0:0 - 0:1)
Goals and assists: 17. B. Tkachuk (Matthews), 28. Sanderson (Matthews, Werenski) - 5. MacKinnon (Harley, Reinhart), 34. Bennett (Marner), 69. McDavid (Marner, Makar). Judges: Rooney, Dwyer - Cherrey, Murray. Exclusions: 1:0. No use. Audience: 17 850.
Line-ups:
USA: Hellebuyck - Sanderson, Werenski, Faber, Slavin, Fox, Hanifin - Hughes, Matthews, Guentzel - M. Tkachuk, Eichel, B. Tkachuk - Boldy, Larkin, Miller - Nelson, Trocheck, Kreider. Coach: Mike Sullivan.
Canada: Binnington - Makar, D. Toews, Parayko, Sanheim, Doughty, Harley - Point, McDavid, Stone - Reinhart, MacKinnon, Crosby - Marner, Cirelli, Hagel - Jarvis, Bennett, Marchand. Coach: Jon Cooper.
Canada won the sixth of the last seven international tournaments involving the best of the best. In addition to fresh triumphs, the cradle of hockey has celebrated at Olympic tournaments in Salt Lake City (2002), Vancouver (2010) and Sochi (2014), winning the World Cup of Hockey nine years ago and in 2004. Only Sweden dominated the 2006 Olympics in Turin.
"For at least a year now, we have the right to talk about ourselves as the best team," MacKinnon said. "Now just to confirm it a year from now in February," He was looking forward to the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, where NHL players will return under the five rings.
Symbolic passing of the baton
The story of Canada's triumph over its age-old American rival could not have had a more apt ending. Connor McDavid scored the winning goal in overtime in a packed TD Garden in Boston. The best NHL player of recent years and the man who is gradually taking over Sidney Crosby's position.
It was the current 37-year-old captain, who has grey in his hair, who decided the final of the 2010 Olympic tournament in Vancouver. Against the same opponent.
Now, fifteen years later, it was his successor.
McDavid himself, however, was cautious in his comments. "I mean, he's (Crosby) we'll see you again next year at the Olympics," reminded of the February tournament in Milan, where NHL players could be featured again.
So he didn't want to talk much about the passing of the baton. "I don't think it is. We'll see him (Crosby) again," added of the team leader who is the personification of Canadian hockey. Crosby has won a junior championship with the national team (2005), two Olympics (2010 and 2014), a World Championship (2015), a World Cup (2016) and now the 4 Nations Face-Off (2025).
A step away from the dream, but great years ahead
"I'm extremely disappointed, but at the same time I couldn't be more proud of this team," captain Auston Matthews said. "We played the whole tournament at a high pace, fought hard and gave everything. We managed to face everything that came our way."
Only that last step was missing. Even in the decisive duel there was a passage when the Americans had the upper hand. For almost seven minutes in the second period, they enjoyed a 2-1 lead. And at that moment, it was hard to shake the thoughts of hoisting the trophy in front of the home fans at Boston's TD Garden.
"We all believed in it. The guys are already stars on their teams, but here they were able to adapt and sacrifice for the team. There's a lot of potential for the future with this pick. If you go through the roster, most of the guys have a lot of years ahead of them at the top level," Coach Sullivan confirmed.
nhl.com/ gnews.cz - RoZ
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