SAY ONLY 47. I PLAY SOME FREE BIRD. CHARLIE MCAVOY, OBVIOUSLY, AS YOU SAID. DISCHARGE. PLAYING FREE BIRD AND POSTING THAT ON INSTAGRAM. THAT IS GOOD NEWS. HIS FATHER IN LAW, WHO ALSO HAPPENS TO BE THE HEAD COACH OF TEAM USA, MIKE SULLIVAN, DIDN’T KNOW IF CHARLIE WOULD BE AT THE GAME TONIGHT AS A FAN, BUT CERTAINLY HE WILL BE WATCHING HIS TEAM TONIGHT. THIS IS EXCITING. YEAH, AND THAT’S JUST ONE MORE REASON TO BE EXCITED. THE GUYS ARE PUMPED. THEY’VE BEEN PUMPED ALL WEEK LONG AND RIGHTFULLY SO. THEY GET A CHANCE TO PLAY THE BEST OF THE BEST AND REPRESENT THEIR COUNTRIES. AND LIKE I SAID, ALL WEEK LONG THEY’VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT HOW THIS BEING THE BIGGEST GAME OF THE CAREER, THE BIGGEST GAME OF THEIR LIVES, AND JUST HOW SPECIAL IT IS FOR THEM TO BE PART OF SOMETHING THAT HAS BROUGHT SO MUCH ATTENTION TO THE SPORT. AND EARLIER TODAY, TEAM USA HEAD COACH MIKE SULLIVAN ADDED TO WHAT TONIGHT’S MEET. IT’S AN INCREDIBLE CELEBRATION OF HOCKEY. THESE ARE THE VERY BEST PLAYERS IN THE GAME. THESE ARE THE GUYS THAT ARE. THESE ARE THE SAVANTS THAT WHEN WHEN THEY BRING THEIR CREATIVITY AND THEIR BRILLIANCE TO WHAT THEY DO OUT THERE, THAT’S HOW THE GAME EVOLVES. AND AND THAT’S WHAT WE’RE SEEING. THAT’S WHAT WE’RE WITNESSING FIRSTHAND. AND I KNOW I COULDN’T BE ANY MORE EXCITED. I KNOW WE ARE WITNESSING SOME GREAT HOCKEY. AND LOOK, I HAPPEN TO LIKE TO FIGHT, YOU KNOW, SOME PEOPLE DID. AND I’M JUST SAYING. YEAH. AND AND THE FIRST GAME, I DON’T KNOW IF WE’LL SEE THOSE FIREWORKS TONIGHT, BUT CERTAINLY THE, THE FANS ARE EXCITED ABOUT THIS. PETER ELIOPOULOS IS OUTSIDE THE GARDEN NOW WITH THE EXCITEMENT. YOU CAN FEEL IT IN THE AIR. PETER. YEAH, YOU CAN DUKE. AND ALEXIS, YOU KNOW, I FIND MYSELF HERE FOR AS YOU DO AS WELL FOR A LOT OF PLAYOFF BRUINS AND CELTICS GAMES. BUT THE EXCITEMENT FOR THIS GAME, IT’S AN EXHIBITION GAME. IT FEELS JUST AS EXCITING AS ONE OF THOSE PLAYOFF GAMES. NOW WE CHECKED TICKET WEBSITES HERE EARLIER A STUBHUB AND TICKETMASTER. THE CHEAPEST TICKET TO GET INTO THIS GAME TONIGHT WITH FEES IS MORE THAN $1,000. THE PRO SHOP INSIDE OF THE GARDEN AS WELL. SOLD OUT. TOTALLY SOLD OUT. NOT ONLY OF TEAM USA JERSEYS, BUT ALSO OF TEAM CANADA JERSEYS. YOU CAN’T GET THEM. AND OUTSIDE OF THE GARDEN, IT’S BEEN BUZZING ALL DAY TODAY. SEVERAL HOURS BEFORE PUCK DROP AND PEOPLE HAVE TRAVELED FOR HOURS TO BE HERE FOR THIS GAME TONIGHT. SPOKE WITH ONE MAN WHO WAS HERE WITH HIS YOUNG SON. LISTEN, THIS IS PRICELESS. I MEAN, I TO BE ABLE TO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO IT AND TO PULL THE TRIGGER, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, WE’LL TAKE TO THE GRAVE WITH US AND AND HOPEFULLY WE COME OUT ON TOP. AND THIS IS SOMETHING THAT, YOU KNOW, IN 30 YEARS, HE’S TAKEN HIS KID TO THE NEXT ONE. I JUST CAN’T WAIT TO SEE BRAD MARCHAND STEP ON THE ICE WITH THE CANADIAN JERSEY ON IN FRONT OF HIS FANS. WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN? SO THAT’S THE BIG QUESTION TONIGHT. WHAT HAPPENS IF MARCHAND, WHO’S THE CAPTAIN OF THE BRUINS BUT PLAYING FOR TEAM CANADA? WHAT IF HE SCORES? WILL THERE BE BOOING. WILL THERE BE BOOING DURING THE NATIONAL ANTHEM? THE CANADIAN OR THE AMERICAN? JUST A LOT OF QUESTIONS HERE TONIGHT THAT IS JUST ABSOLUTELY DRIVING THE CONVERSATION HERE ACROSS THE CITY OF BOSTON. NOW THERE WAS SOME SPECULATION THAT PRESIDENT TRUMP MIGHT BE COMING HERE FOR THIS GAME. HE POSTED ON SOCIAL MEDIA THAT THAT’S NOT THE CASE. HE SPOKE WITH THE TEAM EARLIER TO TRY TO PUSH THEM ALONG TO GET THIS WIN HERE TONIGHT. AND WE ALSO SPOKE WITH MIKE ERUZIONE, JUST A LEGEND FOR TEAM USA. YOU’LL HEAR FROM HIM COMING UP AT 5:00 FOR NO
Connor McDavid scores in overtime to give Canada victory over the U.S. in 4 Nations Face-Off championship game
Updated: 11:17 PM CST Feb 20, 2025
When they got around to playing the Canadian national anthem for the second time, there were no American fans left in the arena to boo.Instead, the Canadian team stood at the blue line, arm in arm, player and coach and staff wearing their championship hats, while the maple leaf flag was lowered behind the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy. The fans who remained, many of them in the in their red Team Canada jerseys, sang along.Video above: Boston hosting 4 Nations Championship game Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of overtime to give Canada a 3-2 victory over the United States on Thursday night as the North American rivals turned what had been a tune-up for the 2026 Olympics into an geopolitical brawl over anthems and annexation as much as international hockey supremacy.Or, to put it another way: It was the 51st U.S. state 3, Canada’s 11th province 2.“Just to see the reaction. Just to know what it means to us. I know it’s just a quick tournament, and it’s not an Olympic gold medal or anything like that, but it means the world to our group, as you can see,” McDavid said.“I hope (the new fans) love it,” he said. “It’s a great game, it’s a great sport and I hope we put on a good show these last couple days and gained some fans, ultimately. You can’t ask for a better show than that.”Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Bennett also scored for Canada. Jordan Binnington made 25 saves in regulation and six more in the extra period on the same ice where he helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup as a rookie five years ago.Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson scored for the Americans, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 22 shots in regulation and three more in OT.Video above: NHL creates 4 Nations Face-Off Fan Village in Boston ahead of gamesThe already ripe rivalry took on an added intensity with the cross-border animosity following President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state. Trump called the American team Thursday morning to wish it well, then turned to Truth Social to poke Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau with more annexation chatter.The political backdrop combined with the quality of the round-robin game, which the United States won 3-1 on Saturday, to bring the atmosphere of a Stanley Cup Final or Olympic gold medal game to the TD Garden.Fans in their team jerseys waved flags, shouted for their countrymen and continued the ritual booing of the opposing national anthem that has become an nightly undercard for what most agree has been one of the best international hockey competitions in decades.The American fans chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” to spur on the home team; in the third period, a cheer of “Johnny Hockey! Johnny Hockey!” reminded the players that they were playing for the memory of former Boston College and Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed by a drunk driver while bicycling in New Jersey at his sister’s wedding last summer.“Miracle on Ice” Olympic hero and honorary U.S. captain Mike Eruzione wore a Gaudreau jersey during a pregame ceremonial puck drop with Canadian counterpart Wayne Gretzky.It was 2-2 after 40 minutes and it stayed that way in the third period and the first eight minutes of overtime. After a flurry of saves by Binnington, the Canadians gained a faceoff in the U.S. zone and Mitch Marner got the puck along the boards before popping it into the center for McDavid.“I was not very good all night,” McDavid said. “All that was going through my mind was, ‘Keep going.’ I struggled all night, but these guys played great and we just found a way.”
BOSTON —When they got around to playing the Canadian national anthem for the second time, there were no American fans left in the arena to boo.
Instead, the Canadian team stood at the blue line, arm in arm, player and coach and staff wearing their championship hats, while the maple leaf flag was lowered behind the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy. The fans who remained, many of them in the in their red Team Canada jerseys, sang along.
Video above: Boston hosting 4 Nations Championship game
Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of overtime to give Canada a 3-2 victory over the United States on Thursday night as the North American rivals turned what had been a tune-up for the 2026 Olympics into an geopolitical brawl over anthems and annexation as much as international hockey supremacy.
Or, to put it another way: It was the 51st U.S. state 3, Canada’s 11th province 2.
“Just to see the reaction. Just to know what it means to us. I know it’s just a quick tournament, and it’s not an Olympic gold medal or anything like that, but it means the world to our group, as you can see,” McDavid said.
“I hope (the new fans) love it,” he said. “It’s a great game, it’s a great sport and I hope we put on a good show these last couple days and gained some fans, ultimately. You can’t ask for a better show than that.”
Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Bennett also scored for Canada. Jordan Binnington made 25 saves in regulation and six more in the extra period on the same ice where he helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup as a rookie five years ago.
Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson scored for the Americans, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 22 shots in regulation and three more in OT.
Video above: NHL creates 4 Nations Face-Off Fan Village in Boston ahead of games
The already ripe rivalry took on an added intensity with the cross-border animosity following President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and talk of making Canada the 51st U.S. state. Trump called the American team Thursday morning to wish it well, then turned to Truth Social to poke Canadian Prime Minster Justin Trudeau with more annexation chatter.
The political backdrop combined with the quality of the round-robin game, which the United States won 3-1 on Saturday, to bring the atmosphere of a Stanley Cup Final or Olympic gold medal game to the TD Garden.
Fans in their team jerseys waved flags, shouted for their countrymen and continued the ritual booing of the opposing national anthem that has become an nightly undercard for what most agree has been one of the best international hockey competitions in decades.
The American fans chanted “U-S-A! U-S-A!” to spur on the home team; in the third period, a cheer of “Johnny Hockey! Johnny Hockey!” reminded the players that they were playing for the memory of former Boston College and Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau, who was killed by a drunk driver while bicycling in New Jersey at his sister’s wedding last summer.
“Miracle on Ice” Olympic hero and honorary U.S. captain Mike Eruzione wore a Gaudreau jersey during a pregame ceremonial puck drop with Canadian counterpart Wayne Gretzky.
It was 2-2 after 40 minutes and it stayed that way in the third period and the first eight minutes of overtime. After a flurry of saves by Binnington, the Canadians gained a faceoff in the U.S. zone and Mitch Marner got the puck along the boards before popping it into the center for McDavid.
“I was not very good all night,” McDavid said. “All that was going through my mind was, ‘Keep going.’ I struggled all night, but these guys played great and we just found a way.”
