BOSTON – “You’re happy he was born in Canada. Thank god.”
Amid the euphoria of the Golden Goal, that’s how Joe Thornton described teammate Sidney Crosby after he froze the clock on a 3-2 overtime victory over an upstart Team USA 15 years ago in Vancouver.
Those words came to mind here again.
The symbolism was unmistakable when Connor McDavid delivered the moment that kept Team Canada atop the podium to cap the NHL’s reintroduction to top-tier international competition at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Same countries. Same score. Another once-in-a-generation player delivering the dagger.
“I’m sure this one means a lot to him,” Crosby said of McDavid. “And it meant a lot to us.”
You’re just happy he was born in Canada.
We clamor so enthusiastically for best-on-best competition to see what happens when you gather so many greats. Canada was pushed to the absolute limit in this competition, losing once to the U.S. in round-robin play and coming within a converted Auston Matthews chance (or three) in overtime from a hollow ending on Thursday night.
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It was no foregone conclusion that McDavid would make sure the cups being passed around the visiting dressing room at TD Garden would be filled with celebratory beer.
After opening the scoring for Canada in the previous two games, the world’s best player was having a tough night in the championship. He uncharacteristically bobbled pucks. He saw Mitch Marner move up to his line midway through the game to provide a spark. He backed opponents off with his speed but didn’t find the most dangerous pockets of the ice.
At least, that is, until a little more than eight minutes into overtime, when Marner found him all alone in the slot and McDavid made no mistake with his cleanest look of the entire tournament.
“Yeah, just couldn’t believe it, really,” he said. “Just excited for our group. Honestly, everybody was so dug in. It starts months and months and months ago, with management going out and picking the team, the coaching staff coming together, and then obviously the players doing what we do. It’s been a big production, and it’s just sweet to have it all come together.”
This was the fourth straight Canadian win in best-on-best competition, following the 2010 Olympics, 2014 Olympics and 2016 World Cup of Hockey. But, really, it’s the start of a new era.
If we learned anything from the 12 days that vaulted hockey into a brighter spotlight than it’s accustomed to, it’s that this U.S. team is poised to be a handful for years to come. Canada’s grip on the gold medals and championship trophies isn’t as firm as it once was. The difference was a great moment from the greatest player.
Twelve months out from the return of NHL players to the Milan Cortina Olympics, Canada must prove itself yet again with McDavid as the centerpiece of this new generation.
“That’s a confidence builder, obviously, knowing that we can play and we can beat anybody,” he said. “That American team is as good as you’re going to find. They’re solid all around but we just found a way in a tough building just to get it done. It was special.”
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McDavid may have been the most vocal player in calling on the NHL and NHL Players’ Association to create an event like this after enduring an agonizingly long wait to pull on the maple leaf sweater in this environment.
It allowed him to play alongside Crosby, his idol, and the opportunity to secure what he hopes will be the first of many big wins. He’s already got five scoring titles and three Hart Trophies in his trophy cabinet. All that matters to him now is driving team success, especially after getting to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last June with the Edmonton Oilers and losing to the Florida Panthers.
In Canada, he is already the best at the game the country loves most.
A goal like the one he put past Connor Hellebuyck here simply adds to the growing legend. The mythology. It will be recreated in driveways across the nation.
“Connor is the best player in our game, and for him to put it in like that in such an intense atmosphere in a hostile environment for Canadians was special,” Nathan MacKinnon said. “Hopefully he can do that again next year, too.”
“He’s a driven player,” Cale Makar said. “He’s clutch. He scores those goals when you need him to.”
“He’s got that ability every single night to change a game,” Crosby said. “He’s proven it time and time again, and he proved it in one of the biggest moments tonight.”
There was a sense of relief mixed into the celebration as Team Canada cranked Nickelback’s “Burn It To The Ground” in its cramped dressing room while standing in a circle sipping beers and champagne. Part of the final message delivered from head coach Jon Cooper when the music was turned down was about the importance of getting this experience under their belts together before returning to the Olympics next February.
Before scattering back to their NHL teams, the players scarfed down pizza and posed together for photos. Many of them looked and sounded exhausted after emptying the tanks in a mid-season tournament played at the highest level imaginable. There was no denying how tight the margins were at the end of a night when they fell behind 2-1 and saw the Americans outshoot them 6-4 in the overtime.
“You can’t write it better, really,” goaltender Jordan Binnington said. “That finish was so special, for us, for the country, for our families.”
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As McDavid and Crosby walked together to the interview area with gold medals around their necks, they bumped into Patrice Bergeron. The Boston Bruins legend won two Olympic gold medals and a World Junior Championship with Crosby and brought his kids to TD Garden wearing No. 63 Brad Marchand sweaters to take in Thursday’s final.
Patrice Bergeron greets Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid after the #4Nations victory.
He says to Crosby: “You just keep winning, huh?” pic.twitter.com/igCL8F2WLs
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 21, 2025
When he saw Crosby, he hugged him and said: “You just keep winning, huh?” Then he shook McDavid’s hand and congratulated him on scoring a golden goal that will be remembered by the next generation.
Like any proud Canadian, he was buzzing about what he’d just witnessed from a 4 Nations tournament that started with questions and ended with an exclamation mark.
“I thought it was incredible – almost better than advertised,” Bergeron told The Athletic. “We all were waiting for it and I think it was actually beyond any expectations. It was beautiful hockey. It was fun to watch. It was intense, it was physical, it was pretty plays and smart plays.
“Yeah, it was incredible.”
And what about No. 97 finishing it off in a fashion reminiscent of No. 87 all those years ago?
“I think that’s pretty cool,” Bergeron said. “It’s only fitting.”
(Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
