A game that began with three fights in nine seconds resulted in some of the best hockey on display in recent memory. The result: a 3-1 win for the United States over Canada, much to the dismay of a majority of the fans at Bell Centre in Montreal.
The win in regulation gives Team USA six points, and clinches a spot in the championship game on Thursday. Each other team has two points, so Monday’s matchups will determine who they will face for the title:
Here are grades for both teams, our biggest takeaways, key players to watch for the next game as well as lingering questions.
Grading the teams
United States: A
Team USA’s opening win over Finland was the kind of emphatic, confidence-building victory they needed before facing their archrivals. But it was also important for proof of concept about this roster. It established two scoring lines, anchored by Auston Matthews and Jack Eichel. It showed star players on their NHL teams could adapt to becoming role players on the national team — players like Dylan Larkin, who scored a critical goal against Canada. It was a win that showed the Americans poised and in control of their emotions.
Everything they exhibited in that Finland win informed this effort against Canada, underscored by a strong performance by Connor Hellebuyck in goal. It was a victory in the most hostile of environments for the Americans, a total team effort in a cyclone of emotions.
The Canadians will caveat this by noting the absence of Cale Makar — the U.S. of course is missing Quinn Hughes for the entirety of the tournament due to injury — and that the game’s importance was diminished after Sweden’s overtime loss to Finland. The Americans will certainly take that under advisory as they travel back home celebrating this epic win, clinching a spot in the championship game next Thursday in Boston and ending Canada’s 17-game “best-on-best” tournament winning streak, per ESPN Research. — Greg Wyshynski
Canada: B-
Maybe placing such a high emphasis on a single play could be considered unfair when it comes to Canada’s overall performance. But in a game between the two most talented teams in the tournament, there was going to be little separation.
The Americans found that separation in the second period with Matt Boldy breaking up a Sidney Crosby cross-ice pass that was further compounded by a line change. That saw an odd-skater rush in the other direction, with Dylan Larkin firing a shot for what proved to be the game-winning goal in just the second period.
Mistakes often have the potential to prove costly, with the notion that miscues are further amplified by facing the reigning Vezina Trophy winner in Connor Hellebuyck, who could win the award again this season. Even with the copious high-danger scoring chances Canada created later in the game, it wasn’t enough to overcome the mistake that led to America’s game-winning goal. — Ryan S. Clark
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Dylan Larkin delivers the go-ahead goal for Team USA in second period
Dylan Larkin takes advantage of a 2-on-1 situation for Team USA and buries the puck to give his team the lead.
What we learned
Hellebuyck answers the critics
Connor Hellebuyck is considered the best goaltender in the world, having won the Vezina Trophy last season, and is the favorite to win it again for the Winnipeg Jets this season. But the 31-year-old American has his detractors, who point to his lack of success when it matters most: In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, where he has a 33-49 career record and back-to-back first-round exits with a save percentage under .890.
While some felt the goal he surrendered against Finland was specious, he was solid the rest of the way. Against Canada, he gave a goal to Connor McDavid on the rush — what NHL goalie hasn’t? — but was a formidable last line of defense the rest of the way with 20 saves, coming up some big stops in the third period.
Hellebuyck was one of the players in this tournament who needed a strong showing, for his confidence and to cement himself as the starter for the 2026 Winter Olympics ahead of a very crowded field. So far, he’s making a statement. — Wyshynski
Canada found countermeasures but still missed Cale Makar
Even with Dallas Stars defenseman Thomas Harley on stand by, there were questions that Canada needed to answer when it came to how it would effectively replace one of the game’s best defensemen. Makar finished with a little more than 28 minutes of ice time in Canada’s overtime win against Sweden. It was the most of any skater for either team.
Makar’s absence went beyond his ice time. It meant having to find someone who could operate on the first-team power-play and penalty-killing units. Canada turned to Josh Morrissey to operate in Makar’s place on the power play, only to finish 0-for-2. As for Harley, he would finish with two shots in 18:47 of ice time. It’s not overstating it to say Canada needs Makar back for Monday’s game against Finland. — Clark
Historic, chaotic start
Maybe it was the emotions of the rivalry manifesting in the only way they could have. Maybe it was Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk seeing Brandon Hagel, an NHL rival with the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the starting lineup and finding himself unable to do anything but drop the gloves — which was brother Brady Tkachuk‘s theory. Maybe it was the Tkachuk brothers honoring their dad Keith, who held a share of the record for earliest fight in an NHL international game at 20 seconds during the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
That’s a record that fights by the Tkachuks and J.T. Miller against Hagel, Sam Bennett and Colton Parayko shattered. Whatever motivated three fights in the first nine seconds of the USA vs. Canada showdown, it turned a rivalry hockey game in a round-robin tournament into a cultural moment on Saturday night. People who don’t talk about hockey were talking about hockey, which is what the NHL wanted out of this tournament — even if the catalyst for that spike in interest was something no one could have predicted.
The best rivalry in hockey, USA vs. Canada, just got better, with a return game potentially on tap next week. — Wyshynski
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USA, Canada fight 3 times in the first 9 seconds of game
Three players each from USA and Canada are penalized for three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.
Where were the individual displays for Canada when it needed goals?
Looking ahead to this game, it was a hearty debate over which side was more talented. The way Connor McDavid found space and burst past Charlie McAvoy for the game’s first goal is arguably the strongest example that those on the Canadian side were right.
But outside of that lone moment? Many of Canada’s stars struggled to find the necessary openings that would allow them to utilize their talent. Perhaps the most evident example came in the third period, when reigning Hart Trophy winner Nathan MacKinnon used his speed on a zone entry only to re-think his approach once Jaccob Slavin arrived to take away what appeared to be a path toward the net.
Much of the frustration had to do with the Americans relying on a tight structure, which made finding those opportunities difficult until later in the third period. It amounted to Canada ending the night with 12 high-danger chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. That’s more than the 10 high-danger chances it mustered against Sweden — but with fewer goals to show for it. — Clark
Players to watch
What a tournament for the Lightning winger. He had a goal and an assist against Finland and then followed that with two goals — including an empty-netter — against Canada.
Guentzel has always had the reputation of rising to the occasion as a Stanley Cup Playoff performer with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. He’s the leader for tournament MVP. — Wyshynski
Part of what made Canada one of the initial favorites to win was the squad’s scoring depth. That includes Reinhart. Since the 2022-23 season, only five players have scored more NHL goals than Reinhart, who is on pace to finish with more than 40 for a second straight campaign.
But against the U.S., he finished with zero goals on no shots, in the wake of a performance against Sweden in which he scored zero goals on three shots. — Clark
Big questions for the next game
How do they approach a (potentially) meaningless game?
The Americans are in the championship game next Thursday. That they know. Who their opponents are is a mystery.
Canada’s game against Finland on Monday afternoon will determine if they’ve punched their ticket for a rematch, or if the U.S. game against Sweden carries any import. Do the Americans play another goalie in the game to give Hellebuyck a rest? Does Matthew Tkachuk heal up whatever was ailing him in the Canada game, to give Chris Kreider his 4 Nations debut?
All in all, these are good problems to have for the tournament leading Team USA. — Wyshynski
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Charlie McAvoy rocks Connor McDavid with nasty hit on the boards
Charlie McAvoy delivers a punishing hit to Connor McDavid that everyone can hear in the first period.
Can the space that eluded Canada against the U.S. be found against Finland?
Much of what allowed the United States to have success against Canada was its ability to take away time and space, while also blocking shots and using a physical style — finishing with 30 hits. Could Finland look to employ a similar strategy Monday when it faces Canada for a championship game berth on the line?
Finland overcame giving up six goals in its first game to the U.S. by making it difficult for Sweden to find chances of any kind by taking away space. It’s one of the major reasons why Sweden finished with only two-high danger chances. If Finland employs a similar system Monday, what adjustments does Canada have to make to force a rematch with the U.S. — and avoid an earlier-than-expected exit? — Clark
BOSTON — The 4 Nations Face-Off has emerged as a transformative moment for the NHL.
“Nothing’s done more for hockey in a decade than what this tournament’s done,” Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said.
What was supposed to be a midseason appetizer for the 2026 Winter Olympics has evolved into a transcendent event for hockey, which has lacked a best-on-best event since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. That was never more apparent than the first U.S. vs Canada showdown in Montreal, which produced three fights in the first nine seconds of the game followed by an elite representation of the sport as played by two bitter rivals.
The audience was massive — with 9.3 million viewers, it was the most-watched non-Olympic hockey game ever in the United States. The hype was something the NHL hadn’t seen in recent memory. People who don’t usually talk about hockey were suddenly talking about hockey.
It’s just incredible how much of a home run 4 Nations has been for the NHL and hockey in general.
Friends who never watched a hockey game in their lives reaching out asking what the plan is for tonight’s game, what food we’re ordering, etc.
“The game is in a better place because that game existed,” Cooper said.
Now that the 4 Nations Face-Off was a game-changer, how will the NHL capitalize on it — and what comes next for its midseason events?
THE NHL HAS ANNOUNCED what is on the way in 2026. The All-Star Weekend, which took a hiatus in favor of 4 Nations this year, will return at the New York Islanders‘ UBS Arena next February. That will serve as a bon voyage event ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, which mark the return of NHL players for the first time since 2014.
The 2026 Olympics begin what the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association hope will be a regular cadence of international best-on-best events. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh announced last week the next World Cup of Hockey is scheduled for 2028. Then come the 2030 Winter Olympics, and then potentially another World Cup and so on.
“We couldn’t be more excited about making a reality: Olympics, World Cups, Olympics, World Cups on a regular schedule of the best hockey players in the world representing their countries,” Bettman said. “We know the full-blown World Cup is going to be sensational.”
Sources told ESPN that the future of the NHL All-Star Game beyond next season has yet to be determined.
The NHL All-Star Game isn’t going anywhere — sources said its status as a tentpole event and its history within the league make it an important part of the league’s slate of events. But All-Star Weekend’s cadence and format beyond next season hasn’t been determined. Logically, it could be held in years when there isn’t a best-on-best event. Perhaps the league continues to double up with the All-Star Game and the Olympics, like it is doing in 2026.
ALL-STAR GAMES are in a transient place in the sports world right now — that’s not just a function of the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
While the NHL’s midseason tournament was being widely praised, the NBA All-Star Weekend received criticism from fans and players. Draymond Green called the game’s format “absurd” and said it existed “because ratings are down and the game is bad.”
The effort of the NHL’s players in its best-on-best tournament was in stark contrast with basketball’s midseason classic.
“You can go on an NBA court and go through the motions. You can’t do that in hockey,” P.K. Subban said on “Get Up.” “The culture of our sport, you have to play it with passion. That’s what fans are investing in.”
While that’s true, the NHL All-Star Game isn’t exactly USA vs. Canada for the 4 Nations title, either.
“Different event, obviously. I don’t remember any fights in the All-Star Games,” Winnipeg Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said. “There’s definitely a place to have both. From what I’ve heard, that’s the plan in the future. And I think both can be exciting.”
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USA, Canada fight 3 times in the first 9 seconds of game
Three players each from USA and Canada are penalized for three fights in the first nine seconds of the game.
THE ALL-STAR GAME brings some virtues that these international tournaments do not. The World Cup of Hockey will be awarded through a host city bidding process. The All-Star Game brings the world’s best players to markets that may never host a World Cup game. It doesn’t just spread the wealth among NHL cities — it does the same among players.
“The one thing about this tournament is ‘Where’s Leon Draisaitl?’ Or Nikita Kucherov?’ Go down the list of guys that aren’t here that you do get to see in an All-Star Game because those guys are special talents,” Cooper said. “Maybe there’s something down the road where everybody gets to play, and that would be super cool.”
The players at the 4 Nations Face-Off uniformly agreed that there’s room for both best-on-best battles and All-Star games in the NHL.
“Obviously this brings out real emotions when you get to play these meaningful games,” Sweden’s Jesper Bratt said. “The All-Star Game has its cool things to it, too, and I think fans appreciate that part of it: to see the best individual players from each division and each team to participate in a skill competition.”
Team USA’s Jack Hughes, Bratt’s teammate on the New Jersey Devils, said he’s made some great memories at the All-Star Game.
“That’s always fun for me personally, just because it’s not as extreme as this. Obviously, you get to spend more time with your family and your friends and get to enjoy that with them. I think that’s a great event,” he said. “But as a hockey player for sure, [4 Nations] is the elite of the elite. Getting to play against the best players and represent your country. It means something to everyone on the ice.”
Vincent Trocheck said the experience is different for every player at the All-Star Game.
“I’ve only played in two, and they’ve been extremely special to me. Every time I’ve been able to go, sharing that with my family is really cool. So those are … awesome weekends, but something like this is just different,” said the New York Rangers center, who played for Team USA. “It’s more meaningful. It’s more emotional. Stuff like this is what you dream of as a kid. So coming to a tournament like this is something that you’ll never forget. You can’t match it.”
THE NHL PLAYERS deserve credit, having pushed for more best-on-best opportunities since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.
“Whether it’s Team Canada, the U.S., Sweden, Finland, the other nations in the future, if there’s more playing in these events when you put on your country’s uniform, it just means something special,” Morrissey said. “It’s a different feeling, and you can’t replicate that in any other way.”
After the success of 4 Nations, everything is on the table. Could the All-Star Game become something that hues a little closer to nation vs. nation? Could those years between the Olympics and World Cup produce more international events, be it a 4 Nations Face-Off or a “summit series” between the U.S. and Canada?
The 4 Nations Face-Off has broadened the possibilities.
“Look to soccer. They have so much international play that gets so much attention. We’re not soccer, as far as a global game, but we’re not that far behind,” Ron Hainsey of the NHLPA said. “That’s the long-term goal here … where fans look forward to these players representing their countries on a regular basis.”
Shutting down the regular season for international events isn’t without its risks or its critics. The 4 Nations Face-Off saw a handful of injuries, most notably to Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who was hospitalized Monday with an infection in his right shoulder and a significant injury to his AC joint.
“I don’t know how the NHL teams feel about it, because guys are going so hard out there and we still have a quarter of the season left,” New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes said. “But I think the guys inside the locker room have extreme care for this and are really, really enjoying this.”
Canada star Connor McDavid agreed less is more for international tournaments.
“I’m not sure you could do this every single year. It’s been pretty taxing. Obviously, we see guys going down and getting hurt.” McDavid said. “But it goes to show how much guys care about playing for the country, how much pride they play with while they’re wearing the jersey.
“I think with the Olympics and the World Cup, I think we’ll get enough.”
The World Cup of Hockey returns in 2028, although its final form has yet to be determined. There will be eight teams representing eight nations, without the “melded” teams from 2016 like Team North America and Team Europe. The NHL will not partner with the International Ice Hockey Federation for the World Cup, instead negotiating with other professional leagues themselves in order to populate teams like Germany and Switzerland with players.
There will be a bidding process for host cities, and that process will be open to European locations.
“The Olympics provides a good model for us in terms of how long the break will be for games in Europe,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said.
Of course, the biggest issue around the 2026 Olympics and 2028 World Cup is whether Russia will be included, as it remains banned from international play through 2026 by the IIHF because of its invasion of Ukraine.
“I’d love to see our Russian players playing in these tournaments. Again, they’re incredible hockey players,” Walsh said. “The issues are political and it is not political as far as the NHLPA, it’s the world politics that we have to get through and I’m hoping that as we get closer to the Olympics, as we get closer to the World Cup, we will start seeing the Russian athletes back in the competition.”
THE 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF showed best-on-best hockey can cross over to the mainstream. But the conditions might not be there to capture lightning in a bottle a second time.
The geopolitical undercurrents to the USA vs. Canada rivalry heightened its passions. The tournament featured the first opportunity for a generation of stars — McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, the Tkachuk brothers and Auston Matthews, among others — to represent their countries in a best-on-best event.
And what, exactly, do they do for an encore? Four fights in eight seconds next time?
“The expectations were high. I think the tournament’s done a good job of setting that bar and going beyond it,” Team USA’s Brock Nelson said.
The 4 Nations Face-Off was meant to be the appetizer for the Olympics. Based on its success, the NHL needs to capitalize on the moment.
College football reporter; joined ESPN in 2008. Graduate of Northwestern University.
The Nebraska–Tennessee football home-and-home football series scheduled for 2026 and 2027 will not be played after Nebraska opted out of the agreement.
Tennessee athletic director Danny White posted on X that Nebraska called off the series and added that Tennessee is “very disappointed” by the cancellation, especially so close to the initial game in 2026. The teams had been set to play in 2026 at Nebraska and at Tennessee the following year.
In a statement, Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen explained renovations to the team’s stadium, which will temporarily lower seating capacity, ultimately led to the decision.
“We are making plans to embark on major renovations of Memorial Stadium that may impact our seating capacity for the 2027 season,” Dannen said. “The best scenario for us is to have eight home games in 2027 to offset any potential revenue loss from a reduced capacity. The additional home games will also have a tremendous economic benefit on the Lincoln community.”
The Cornhuskers announced they will host Bowling Green in 2026 and Miami (Ohio) in 2027 on the dates when it was originally set to play Tennessee. Nebraska has never faced either school. The team will play eight homes in 2027 for the first time since 2013.
The cancellation ends a nearly two-decade process around a Nebraska-Tennessee series, which was originally agreed upon in 2006 and set for the 2016 and 2017 seasons. In 2013, the two schools agreed to delay the games for a decade. Nebraska will pay $500,000 to get out of the scheduling agreement.
White told Volquest that the “buyout implications need to be much steeper” with an “old contract,” and the cancellation puts Tennessee in a bind. Tennessee, which opens the 2025 season against Syracuse in Atlanta, had its nonleague schedule set through the 2030 season. The school either must find an opponent who can fill the 2026 and 2027 dates for a home-and-home series, or explore neutral-site options.
“You really can’t pull an audible this late in the game,” White told Volquest.
Nebraska’s stadium renovation, the first phase of which had been set to begin after the 2024 season, has been delayed until after the 2025 season, at the earliest.
Tennessee and Nebraska have played only three times before, most recently in the 2016 Music City Bowl, won by the Vols. Nebraska beat Tennessee in the 1998 Orange Bowl to secure a share of the national title that season.
Tennessee has been on the other side of a similar situation. The Vols in 2021 canceled a game against Army for the next season in 2022 and added Akron instead.
Information from ESPN’s Chris Low was used in this report.
ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the Washington Wizards from 2014 to 2016 and the Washington Nationals from 2016 to 2018 for The Washington Post before covering the Los Angeles Dodgers and MLB for the Los Angeles Times from 2018 to 2024.
TAMPA, Fla. — The New York Yankees‘ facial hair and grooming policy, an infamous edict in place for nearly 50 years, was formally amended for the first time Friday.
In a statement, Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said the organization will allow “well-groomed beards” effective immediately, changing a rule his father, George, established in 1976.
“In recent weeks I have spoken to a large number of former and current Yankees — spanning several eras — to elicit their perspectives on our longstanding facial hair and grooming policy, and I appreciate their earnest and varied feedback,” Hal Steinbrenner said in the statement. “These most recent conversations are an extension of ongoing internal dialogue that dates back several years.
“Ultimately the final decision rests with me, and after great consideration, we will be amending our expectations to allow our players and uniformed personnel to have well-groomed beards moving forward. It is the appropriate time to move beyond the familiar comfort of our former policy.”
George Steinbrenner implemented the mandate before the 1976 season, leaving players with a choice of being clean-shaven or wearing a mustache. Hal Steinbrenner kept the policy in place after becoming chairman and controlling owner of the franchise in 2008.
Players overwhelmingly obliged with the order over the next five decades, from spring training through October, often before letting themselves go during the offseason, though a few have pushed the limits.
In the 1990s, for example, star first baseman Don Mattingly was fined and benched by manager Stump Merril for refusing to trim his mullet. Four years later, Mattingly wore a goatee for part of his final season in 1995.
This year, All-Star closer Devin Williams, acquired from the Milwaukee Brewers in December, reported for his spring training physical with a beard before shaving it down to a mustache for the team’s first workout the next day. On the other end, former Yankees Gleyber Torres and Clay Holmes reported to camp with their new teams sporting full beards.