On February 20, 2025, Boston’s TD Garden was the spot for an awesome game between the United States and Canada. They were fighting for the championship in the first-ever 4 nations Face-Off tournament. It was the first time in history that these two played each other in a final for senior men’s hockey since that wild game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

From the start, both teams were way into it and wanted to win, showing off some crazy skills. For the most part it was pretty even throughout the entire match, with each team scoring back and forth for two periods. Heading into third, it was tied 2-2, and you could start to feel how stressed everyone was getting.

Things were getting crazy in overtime when Canada’s captain, Connor McDavid, got a huge chance. The U.S. messed up on defense, leaving McDavid wide open near the net. He quickly shot the puck past American goalie Connor Hellebuyck. This goal won the game for Canada, 3-2. It made him a legend. After the crazy ending, everyone started to want tickets, and the rivalry between the two was getting even more tense.

The U.S. had an amazing team coming into the tournament, with Auston Matthews as captain and Matthew Tkachuk as a star forward-both of whom were coming back from injuries. Even though America was able to beat Canada 3-1 earlier in the tournament, they weren’t able to do it again when it actually counted.

Canada, the winners of the 4 Nations Face-Off, showed who they truly are and got people to start talking about international hockey again. With NHL players ready to play in the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, this tournament was able to give us a little sneak peek at what’s coming.