Team Canada defeated Team USA 3-2 in overtime in the first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off championship game at TD Garden on Feb. 20.
This year’s 4 Nations Face-Off was in place of the NHL All-Star Game, in an effort to spike TV ratings and mark the NHL’s return to the Winter Olympics in Italy next year.
The tournament consisted of four teams representing four countries: USA, Canada, Sweden, and Finland. The games were played from Feb. 12 to Feb. 20 between the Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston.
Each team played three tournament games in a traditional round-robin format. Points were awarded via the following system: three points for a win in regulation time, two points for a win in overtime/shootout, one point for a loss in overtime/shootout, and zero points for a loss in regulation time.
Despite losing in the championship game, Team USA still finished on top with six total points. Canada and Sweden tied for five points and Finland finished with two. Both Team USA and Canada won twice and lost once. Sweden and Finland both lost twice and won once, according to the round-robin standings.
“That finish was so special for us, for the country, for our families,” team Canada goalie Jordan Binnington said in a post-game interview with NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. “It’s pretty surreal.”
Team Canada lost 3-1 to Team USA in their first matchup of the tournament on Feb. 15. Team USA’s win automatically placed them in the championship.
“We lost that game and just to be able to earn this rematch and win in overtime, you can’t write it better,” Binnington said.
Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and Team Canada, who was also awarded most valuable player of the tournament, opened the scoring with an assist from Thomas Harley of the Dallas Stars.
“It was fun,” MacKinnon said postgame. “The 4 Nations kind of caught on fire. I’m sure everyone didn’t really know what to expect. There were questions about it being like an All-Star game, and people didn’t know the players’ mindset coming in, and rightfully so, but guys took this very seriously to represent your country.”
Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators scored for Team USA in the first and second periods, respectively. Sam Bennett of Team Canada and the Florida Panthers tied the game at 2-2 by the end of regulation. Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers scored Canada’s winning goal in overtime.
“Connor was very open, so that was nice,” MacKinnon said in response to McDavid’s game-winning goal. “When he’s that open, it’s in the net. So, it’s very exciting. It feels good to be on top this time.”
Team USA sustained quite a few injuries leading up to the championship game. Both Auston Matthews and Brady Tkachuk missed one game due to minor soreness. Matthew Tkachuk sustained a lower-body injury and missed most of the championship game.
Charlie McAvoy, defenseman for Team USA and the Boston Bruins, sustained a brutal hit during one of the early games which caused a significant injury to his AC joint and an infection to his right shoulder. McAvoy was hospitalized at Mass General for a couple of days and had to miss the championship game. The Bruins organization has not provided an exact timeline on McAvoy’s return to the lineup.
“It’s tough. Charlie is a terrific hockey player and he’s a big part of this team,” USA’s head coach and McAvoy’s father-in-law Mike Sullivan said to ESPN. “He’s played extremely well through this tournament. When you lose players of that caliber, they’re not easy to replace.”
The championship game was watched by 16 million viewers across North America, with 9.3 million viewers in the United States and 6.3 million in Canada. It was also the most-viewed non-NFL game ever on ESPN+, and the second-most watched hockey game in the past decade behind game 7 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers.
“I just hope Canada is proud, because every player in that room is proud to be a Canadian,” Team Canada’s head coach Jon Cooper said. “Not only our team, but Canada needed a win. The players bared that on their shoulders and they took it seriously. This one was different. This wasn’t a win for themselves. This was a win for 40-plus million people, and the guys knew it, and they delivered.”
