Nathan MacKinnon Wins MVP of 4 Nations Face-Off as Canada Beats USA in Final

Nathan MacKinnon has won MVP of the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off after Canada defeated the United States 3-2 in overtime in the final on Thursday evening in Boston.

The Colorado Avalanche center scored the game's first goal at 4:48 of the first period.

MacKinnon also scored three goals in the three-game round robin, beginning with a power-play goal 56 seconds into Canada's 4-3 win over Sweden in the tournament's opening game.

He then added two goals in a 5-3 victory over Finland in Canada's third game, which propelled his team into the final versus the United States.

It was a well-deserved honor for MacKinnon, who got Canada off to great early starts in the Sweden round-robin matchup and the United States final.

MacKinnon also scored the second and fourth goals for Canada en route to a 4-0 lead against Finland, and his team certainly needed his efforts after Finland scored three third-period goals to nearly come all the way back to tie the game.

He ultimately served as the tournament's top goalscorer en route to helping give Canada the first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off trophy.

Canada had multiple heroes, of course. St. Louis Blues goalie Jordan Binnington made six saves in overtime, including three on Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews. And Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid scored the overtime game-winner, continuing his great play after posting a goal and an assist against Finland.

In the end, MacKinnon was the MVP, but the true story was the success and popularity of this international tournament, which should help set the table for next year's Olympics as well.