4 Nations Face-Off winners & losers: United States-Canada rivalry revived, All-Star weekend concept pales

The 4 Nations Face-Off has officially come to a close, and it proved to be a resounding success for the NHL. Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid capped off the round-robin tournament by lifting Canada to 3-2 overtime win against the United States in Thursday’s championship in Boston.

At the 8:18 mark of overtime, Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner found a wide-open McDavid in the slot, and McDavid ripped a shot past American goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to win the game.

This was the fifth all-time meeting between Canada and the United States in a gold medal or championship at an NHL international tournament or Olympics. Sidney Crosby powered Canada to an overtime win with a game-winning goal in the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver, and now the torch has been passed to McDavid.

With so much excitement having taken place over the last week, we thought we’d break down the winners and losers for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

United States-Canada rivalry: Winner

It’s hard to dispute the fact that the two games between the United States and Canada were most exciting of the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Americans came away with a 3-1 win in the first meeting last weekend, while Canada skated off with the hardware after the championship.

The first showdown between the nations provided all the theatrics that any hockey fan could want. After Montreal’s Bell Centre crowd booed “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the United States took a little bit of an exception to that as there ended up being three fights in the opening nine seconds with the likes of Matthew Tkachuk and Brandon Hagel dropping the gloves for their national teams. The Americans ended up scoring three unanswered goals after Connor McDavid opened the scoring for Canada in the first period.

And Thursday’s championship didn’t disappoint. It was entertaining end-to-end action from the opening puck drop, and it culminated in McDavid, the sport’s biggest star, having the biggest moment.

It’s been a while since the United States and Canada were so evenly matched as Canada has traditionally dominated these best-on-best tournaments in recent decades. While the Americans were extremely impressive in this tournament, they still haven’t beaten the Canadians in a best-on-best tournament since 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

Hockey fans: Winner

Regardless of what country you were pulling for, hockey fans were by far one of the biggest winners. After all, there hasn’t been a best-on-best tournament in the hockey world since the World Cup of Hockey back in 2016. NHL players, such as McDavid, Auston Matthews, and Nathan MacKinnon, hadn’t been able to suit up for their respective countries since entering the league prior to this event. 

Diehard, casual, and new fans alike had a chance to take in the sport’s top stars playing at the highest level. The NHL may also have earned some new fans that perhaps weren’t the biggest supporters of hockey or never gave it a chance. Regardless of the level of fandom, seeing the a best-on-best tournament of this caliber is certainly something that the sport will need to continue for years to come.

Jordan Binnington: Winner

While McDavid provided the game-winning tally, goaltender Jordan Binnington arguably was Canada’s best player Thursday night. 

Entering the 4 Nations Face-Off, Canada was criticized by many for having a less-than-stellar goaltending group. In fact, perhaps it was the weakest of the four countries. From the start of the round-robin tournament, Canada coach Jon Cooper chose to ride with Binnington the entire way, and it paid off in a big way.

Binnington won two of his four starts and tallied a 2.50 goals-against-average to go along with a .907 save percentage in the 4 Nations Face-Off. However, Thursday’s game was, by far, the most sensational performance that Binnington turned in as he held a dangerous United States offensive attack to just two goals. On top of that, Binnington made several tremendous saves from point-blank range in overtime to extend the game.

For a goaltender that had a track record of letting in soft goals from time-to-time, Binnington helped to shed that label by keeping some of the sport’s top offensive players off of the score sheet. 

Sweden: Loser

While many may have believed that the United States and Canada were on a championship collision course, Sweden definitely had what it took to be playing for the trophy. 

The Swedes were led by a talented forward group that included William Nylander, Filip Forsberg, Elias Pettersson and Jesper Bratt. Still, Sweden only was able to win its final round-robin game after dropping its first two games by 4-3 overtime decisions. 

Erik Karlsson (one goal, two assists) and forward Lucas Raymond (three assists) led the way with Sweden with three points apiece. Perhaps the biggest letdown was the fact that Sweden’s elite forwards didn’t rise to the occasion throughout the tournament. Nylander tallied just two assists, while Forsberg was held pointless in the team’s three games. Nylander, who is the Toronto Maple Leafs leading goal scorer this season, didn’t provide any of that goal-scoring prowess in this tournament, and ultimately needed to lead by example for Sweden.

Ultimately, Sweden had the firepower to give the United States or Canada a run for its money. Of course, the Swedes did defeat the Americans, 2-1, on Monday, but that was a United States team that rested many of its top players for the championship. Sweden was a team that could’ve made a lot more noise, but instead, just fell flat.

All-Star weekend: Loser

With the 4 Nations Face-Off was held in lieu of the NHL’s annual All-Star weekend. As far as All-Star events go, the NHL holds a fairly respectable event with an entertaining skills competition. The league also brought back the fantasy draft in 2024 with the four top vote getters selecting their own teams. 

Still, All-Star weekend cannot hold a candle to what we witnessed over the last week. The games proved to be extremely polarizing no matter who on the ice. Even for a casual fan, this is what hockey fans are going to want on a yearly basis when it comes to what the NHL does during its midseason hiatus. Obviously, the league can’t hold these type of best-on-best tournaments on a yearly basis due to the amount of wear-and-tear. However, fortunately for those that have enjoyed this round-robin tournament, the NHL’s top players will be competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, so a similar atmosphere should apply.

It’s simply hard for the NHL to go back to the league’s All-Star weekend after the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off and how much it resonated with fans.