BOSTON — It’s still Canada’s game.
Thursday night’s game between Team Canada and Team USA had hockey fans north and south of the border on the edge of their seats for 68 minutes and 18 seconds. At the end of the night, it was Connor McDavid who put the finishing touches on a beautiful script.
From the jump, this game had all the feelings of a Game 7. The crowd with their roaring “USA, USA, USA” chants, the back and forth between those in navy blue on their home soil and the visiting Canadian fans. It was beautiful.
There were many red and white jerseys in the crowd, and they were brought to their feet when Nathan MacKinnon opened the scoring.
Canada had some nice pushes after making it 1-0, but if I had to sum up Canada’s first period in one short phrase, it would be: missed opportunity.
Scoring first in games like these is obviously massive and getting on the board early was huge, but they had a chance to push the USA right back onto their heels and just simply didn’t do that. The Americans were turning over a lot of pucks and they gave Canada a handful of free looks in really dangerous areas and Canada just couldn’t capitalize.
Now, scoring on Connor Hellebuyck is not easy and I give the goaltender a lot of credit for keeping this a one-goal game as many times as he did, but Canada’s biggest strength is their high-powered forwards and that group needed to finish off one of those extra chances.
Hellebuyck’s play and Canada’s inability to finish off some looks from in tight allowed Brady Tkachuk to bring this crowd back to life. His goal and subsequent celebration had this building rocking for really the first time since the pre-game ceremony.
As an aside, I’ve been very disappointed in how Devon Toews has looked in this tournament and the USA’s first goal was another example of him not being a step behind. His spot on the 2026 Olympic team should absolutely be in jeopardy, regardless of who he plays on a pairing with during the regular season.
Turnovers continued to plague the USA in the middle frame, but still, Canada couldn’t finish off the chances.
Then the USA took a lead as Jake Sanderson, who wouldn’t have even be playing in this game if Charlie McAvoy was healthy, swatted home a loose puck.
That sent this place into a frenzy as the “Free Bird” played and the Americans flew by their bench. After that, they were jeering Jordan Binnington and in general, just turned things up a notch.
I give Canada a lot of credit for having a good pushback and bringing the crowd right back down to a normal level.
Feb 20, 2025; Boston, MA, USA; Team USA defenseman Adam Fox (23) and Team Canada forward Mitch Marner (16) reach for the puck during the first period during the 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey championship game at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Brian Fluharty-Imagn Images
Before the game, I talked about how two players in Canada’s bottom-six, Mitch Marner and Brad Marchand, had the chance to be real difference-makers. Neither have good tournaments by any stretch but they’re both so skilled that they can change the game with one play.
That’s exactly what Marner did as he showed off some elite patience and slid a puck to Sam Bennett who tied the game at two.
There was basically no way that this game wasn’t going to be a nail-biter and it lived up to those expectations.
In the third period, you could tell neither side wanted to make a mistake. They were playing a very, very cautious style of hockey and it’s totally understandable considering what was on the line.
If you had to ask me who the better team was in the third period, I would tell you that it was the United States. They had Canada on their heels for some really long stretches but Canada just didn’t break. They did a very good job keeping the USA to the outside.
Then the horn sounded. We were going to overtime. Of course.
You couldn’t have scripted a better hockey game. Tight checking with great displays of skill with some absolutely jaw-dropping saves from Jordan Binnington. A guy who Jon Cooper was criticized for starting over and over again in this tournament made his Head Coach look like the smartest man in hockey.
Team Canada doesn’t win this game if Binnington doesn’t make a trio of remarkable saves in overtime.
And then to get Connor McDavid, the face of league, to score the overtime winner. A dream ending for Canadian hockey fans and quite honestly, a dream ending for the sport.
5,471 days after Sidney Crosby delivered Canada an Olympic Gold Medal in Vancouver, Connor McDavid gives Canadian hockey fans what they’ve been waiting over a decade for: a victory in a true best-on-best tournament.
After all the drama, all the political talk… maybe it was fitting that this tournament ended with the Canadian anthem being played at TD Garden, without a single boo to be heard.
