Canada Beats USA in Thrilling 4 Nations Face Off Final

The NHL tried a new concept for its All Star Game this season. There were four All Star teams, each one consisting of NHL players from different countries—Canada, the U.S., Finland, and Sweden. There was a round robin tournament, followed by a championship game. This international tournament was called the 4 Nations Face Off.

It was a rousing success. Games were played in sold out arenas, the players were hyped as much as if they were in the Stanley Cup Finals, and even casual fans were taking interest. The championship game between the USA and Canada was played on February 20th, in Boston. Ticket prices on the secondary market were going for four figures, and we don’t mean $29.99. The U.S. team had beaten Canada 3-1 in the round robin game between the two in Montreal on February 15th, but that was in the past.

The final lived up to the hype. Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring in the 1st period with his fourth goal of the tournament for Canada, and Brady Tkachuk tied it for the U.S with his third. Jake Sanderson gave the U.S. the lead in the second, and Sam Bennett tied it later in the period. With no scoring in the third, the game went into overtime, perhaps fitting for a game like this.

The finish was also fitting for a game like this. Connor McDavid, arguably the best hockey player in the world right now, scored on a wrist shot at 8:18 of overtime to win it for Canada. The Canadian team has now won six of the last seven best on best international tournaments dating back to the 2002 Olympics. They’ll go for seven of eight one year from now in the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics.