Winners and Losers From USA-Canada 2025 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game

The 4 Nations Face-Off was a beautiful showcase of the game of hockey, particularly how much the sport has grown since the last international best-on-best tournament in 2016.

The USA arrived to this week's tournament with swagger, beat bitter rival Canada 3-1 in the round-robin stage and punched the first ticket to the championship game.

There was much talk about the growth of the sport in the United States, and there were record-breaking ratings to go along with it.

However, Canada's star power, a few goaltending heroics and experience were still too much for Team USA to handle in one of the closest hockey games you'll see.

It was the best player in the world, Connor McDavid, who sealed the 3-2 win for his nation in overtime. Canada has now won 10 of 14 overall best-on-best international tournaments involving NHL players dating back to the 1976 Canada Cup.

McDavid, who has yearned for a signature moment since dropping last season’s Stanley Cup in Game 7, was a big winner Thursday evening. But who else rounds out the winners and losers of the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off?

Winner: Connor McDavid

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The joyous celebration Connor McDavid enjoyed after lifting the puck past Connor Hellebuyck on Thursday night said it all: He needed this.

The NHL's brightest star has been waiting for a truly signature moment throughout his time in the league. He got close last season when the Edmonton Oilers took the Florida Panthers to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, but getting that far and coming up short hurt even more.

McDavid's signature speed was felt all over the ice, but he had a quiet night by his standards in the championship game until playing the hero. He had just two shots on goal, and the USA's ridiculously tight defense was able to contain him.

However, the 28-year-old eventually broke through when it counted most. It's a huge moment for McDavid and Edmonton Oilers fans, who will be hoping he can add another title in June.

Losers: Jordan Binnington Doubters

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Jordan Binnington wasn’t having a particularly standout tournament before the championship game. It wasn’t as bad as some of the naysayers anticipated, but he wasn’t in line for team MVP. 

To be fair, Team Canada's strength was not in its defense and there were some considerable holes—especially before Cale Makar returned.

Binnington had allowed eight goals in three games and owned a 2.60 GAA and .892 save percentage heading into the championship.

However, the 31-year-old channeled the same energy that won him and the St. Louis Blues a Stanley Cup at TD Garden in Boston in 2019.

It wasn’t just the stats, although Binnington ended the evening strong with 31 saves on 33 shots and a .939 save percentage. The quality and timing of his saves allowed his team to win.

Where he really stood out was in overtime, making incredible saves on Auston Matthews and Jake Guentzel. The result might be a different story if he had let one in.

Losers: Florida Panthers Seeing Matthew Tkachuk Injured

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The one huge downer looming over this tournament was the idea of losing players to injury and that, unfortunately, manifested itself in all sorts of ways.

Illness bugs ravaged some locker rooms and took players such as Cale Makar and Charlie McAvoy out for at least some time.

You'd barely know it, but Sidney Crosby entered the tournament dealing with a niggling injury, and Quinn Hughes opted not to play for this reason.

Meanwhile, both Tkachuk brothers had been fighting to be fully healthy for the tournament, and Matthew was limited in the final due to injury.

The Florida Panthers star was benched at end of the second period, skating one brief shift before returning to the Team USA bench. He was there at the start of the third period and never returned to the ice.

Tkachuk appeared to sustain his injury at the end of the first USA-Canada game on Saturday and missed Monday's matchup against Sweden before returning for the championship game.

Winners: Jaccob Slavin Truthers

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Jaccob Slavin

Welcome to the Jaccob Slavin Show.

If you haven't already familiarized yourself with the Carolina Hurricane's other-worldly stick-handling skills and sturdiness, you've now got no excuse.

Slavin logged 28:32 time on ice in Thursday's championship game, and his impact was essentially the reason the entire game felt so close.

Remember that epic USA penalty kill halfway through the second shortly after Jake Sanderson's go-ahead goal? Slavin logged 1:44 of time on ice there. Defense was the United States' greatest strength, and it started and ended with the 30-year-old.

How's this for a stat: In both games against the U.S., Team Canada scored a total of 0 goals with Slavin on the ice.

Brock Faber, who logged 1:42 time on ice on that aforementioned penalty kill, was right there with Slavin containing Canada's biggest threats. 

While Charlie McAvoy went down with an unfortunate injury and infection before the game, he had one of the strongest performances of the first USA-Canada showdown. And his situation served as a genuine rallying point for the team and fans.

Zach Werenski was able to add a whole extra layer of, well, everything to give the team a boost wherever it was needed at the time. Sanderson had the all-important go-ahead goal to give the USA its first lead of the game.

All around, this group showcased the most elite level of defense in the tournament. It also reminded us that defense can be beautiful in its own right in a league that is trending towards high-scoring.

Best-on-best hockey is fascinating because you really get to see what a defender like Slavin can do to break up passes and remove time and space from those who know how to create it. 

Winner: The Tournament

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There was doubt every step of the way in the months leading up to the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off.

Would players buy in? Would the product hold up? Would the tournament replace this year’s All-Star Game? Would it end up a glorified version of that sometimes half-hearted event?

Fast-forward to the past week, when the stage for Canada vs. USA had been set. You had players on both sides saying this was one of, if not the most significant game they've had the opportunity to play in.

We've had sold-out arenas, indescribable atmospheres in both Canada and the USA, and chirps back-and-forth through the media.

The viewership numbers for the title match haven't rolled in yet, but 10.1 million North American viewers tuned in for Saturday's first USA-Canada contest. That tops every non-Stanley Cup Final game since 2014.

Hockey has been the main event on the biggest American sports shows, rather than just a five-minute obligation. Fans have dreamed of momentum like this for years.

The 4 Nations Face-Off was an objective success that perhaps unexpectedly brought an influx of new fans to the game. The people yearned for best-on-best hockey after too many years without it, as did the players. Jake Guentzel is 30, and this was his first time representing the U.S. in a major competition if that helps paint the picture. 

The impact this tournament had on the players, fans and the popularity of the game is undeniable.

Winners: The Replacement Defensemen

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Thomas Harley

Well, would you look at that? Team USA replacement defenseman Jake Sanderson ended up quite the addition, giving the team its only lead in the championship game.

There were memes galore about how Team USA was going to finesse dropping Sanderson to add Quinn Hughes, and although fans will be thinking what might have happened if the Canucks star had played, it's time to give Sanderson credit for his contributions and performance in the NHL this season.

Then we've got Thomas Harley, who has been a growing force on the Dallas Stars and brought the same puck-moving energy to Team Canada. Jon Cooper's decision to play him Thursday night directly led to a puck retrieval that became its first goal of the game.

Sanderson is 22. Harley is 23. And Brock Faber, who also had a strong tournament, is also 22. Expect all of these young talented defenseman to making the trip to Italy for the Winter Olympics next year.