Canada defeats USA in overtime to claim hockey’s first 4 Nations Face-Off title
The result was the culmination of a midseason tournament that featured stars from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States — and a surprisingly political atmosphere.
Canada defeated USA Thursday to win the first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off hockey tournament, capping what had become a heated and politically charged event.
An overtime goal from Connor McDavid sealed the 3-2 win for Canada at the TD Garden Arena in Boston, where ticket prices soared in the days ahead of the hotly anticipated finale.
The result was the culmination of a midseason tournament that featured stars from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States. Recognized as one of the biggest international hockey games in years, Thursday’s matchup could be a preview of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina, which will feature NHL players for the first time since 2014.
“I know it’s just a quick tournament and it’s not an Olympic gold medal or anything like that but it means the world to our group,” McDavid said on ESPN after the win. “We worked so hard all week. It’s special.”
Canada got on the board first 4:48 into the first period. Nathan MacKinnon skated towards the middle of the ice and fired a wrist shot through a sea of players that beat American goaltender Connor Hellebuyck up high.
The U.S. evened the action with 3:08 remaining in the period. Auston Matthews tried to wrap around the goal for a shot but couldn’t control the puck. It instead landed at the feet of Brady Tkachuk, who poked it into the net on a deflection.
The U.S. took its first lead 7:31 into the second period. After a slapshot by Zach Werenski was blocked, it fell to Matthews. He tried to pass the puck across the goal but it was deflected to Jake Sanderson, who put it home on a snapshot. It was his first goal of the tournament.
Canada tied it up with six minutes remaining in the second period. Mitch Marner found Sam Bennett up the left wing, who fired in a wrist shot past Hellebuyck.
McDavid won it 8:18 into overtime on a one-timer off an assist from Marner.
McDavid, the Edmonton Oilers superstar widely considered the best player in the NHL, called his play up until that point in the game “not very good.”
“All that was going through my mind was keep going,” he said postgame. “I struggled all night but these guys played great and we found a way.”
The championship contest capped off the first best-on-best men’s hockey tournament in nearly a decade, the last being the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. NHL players were not allowed to participate in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, though they will be returning for the 2026 Games.
That fact raised the stakes for the 4 Nations tournament, which the NHL created as a replacement this season for the more traditional All-Star Game.
Players who for years were starved for the chance to play meaningful games on behalf of their country now would be able to face-off for international bragging rights. So far, fans, players and executives have commented on how intense and high-quality the games have been.
The stakes were further raised amid ongoing political tensions between the U.S. and Canada. In recent weeks, President Donald Trump has promoted the idea that the U.S. will absorb Canada as the “51st state” and called for hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to serve as the Canadian premier. Trump has threatened wide-ranging tariffs on the country and said he would exert “economic force” on the nation in an effort to take over the U.S.’s northern neighbor.
That backdrop has led to the booing of the American national anthem at sporting events throughout Canada in recent weeks, including during the last matchup between USA and Canada in Montreal on Saturday.
Players on both teams — many on the Canadian team play on NHL teams located in the U.S. while some on the American squad play for the league’s Canadian franchises — condemned the booing of the anthem. But the start of Saturday’s game, which the U.S. won 3-1, was marked by three separate fights between U.S. and Canadian players seconds after puck drop.
Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk and J.T. Miller, three of the stars of Team USA, revealed after the game that they had planned for the fights in a group chat ahead of time. Brandon Hagel, a forward on Team Canada who fought Matthew Tkachuck at the start of Saturday’s contest, told reporters Tuesday, “I think we’re out there playing for the flag, not the cameras.”
“That’s a part of Canada that we have in there,” Hagel continued. “We don’t need to initiate anything. We don’t have any group chats going on. We’re going out there playing our game and then giving it everything and doing it for our country. We don’t need to initiate everything. We’re just going to play as hard as we can and do it for the flag on the chest.”
Matthew Tkachuk would hit back Wednesday, saying: “Maybe their team doesn’t like each other if they don’t have group chats.”
Bill Guerin, the general manager of Team USA, told Fox News earlier this week he invited Trump to attend the Thursday contest.
On Thursday, Trump called in to speak with the American players ahead of the championship bout. Earlier, he taunted Canada on his Truth Social platform, saying he would be calling the American team “to spur them on towards victory tonight against Canada, which with FAR LOWER TAXES AND MUCH STRONGER SECURITY, will someday, maybe soon, become our cherished, and very important, Fifty First State.”
“I will be speaking before the Governors tonight in D.C., and will sadly, therefore, be unable to attend. But we will all be watching, and if Governor Trudeau would like to join us, he would be most welcome,” Trump added.
He has in recent months taken to mocking Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who attended Saturday’s game in Montreal, as “governor.” The Canadian embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
After Thursday’s game, Trudeau shared his thoughts about the result on social media.
