Canada Defeats United States in Overtime to Win 4 Nations Face-Off
Connor McDavid scored in overtime to secure a 3-2 victory for Canada over the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament final on Thursday night, The Associated Press reports.
The game, held at TD Garden in Boston, saw a tightly contested match between the North American rivals.
Jordan Binnington made 31 saves for Canada, including 20 consecutive stops, on the same ice where he previously won a Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues. Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Bennett also scored for Canada, who tied the game at 2-2 in the second period.
Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson scored for the United States, while Connor Hellebuyck stopped 22 shots in regulation and three in overtime.
After Binnington made several saves early in overtime, Canada secured a faceoff in the U.S. zone. Mitch Marner passed the puck from the boards to McDavid, who scored the game-winning goal.
The victory marks Canada’s first win against the United States in best-on-best international play since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics preliminaries. The US had previously defeated Canada in the 4 Nations round-robin.
The tournament, featuring NHL stars returning to international competition after missing the last two Winter Games, drew a large and enthusiastic crowd. Fans waved flags, cheered for their respective teams, and engaged in the traditional booing of the opposing national anthem.
Mike Eruzione, captain of the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” US Olympic hockey team, attended the game wearing a Johnny Gaudreau jersey, honoring the late hockey player who passed away last summer. American fans also chanted “Johnny Hockey!” and “U-S-A!” throughout the game.
