(WGR Sports Radio 550) - Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers) scored the game-winning goal for Canada in a 3-2 win over the United States at the 8:18 mark of overtime in the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off in Boston.
However, it was Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues) who deserved to be the Player of the Game, as he absolutely stole the game, and the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy for Canada on American soil.
Binnington not only made six saves in overtime, but he completely and utterly stood on his head against Team USA captain Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) in the extra frame.
Until the extra session, Matthews was having a great game, picking up two assists and even back checking hard to break up a very dangerous second period 2-on-1 rush for Canada catching Brad Marchand from behind.
In overtime, Jake Guentzel (Tampa Bay Lightning) set up Matthews on the doorstep, but Binnington was there to stop the 60-plus goal scorer from last year.
The former Stanley Cup champion robbed Matthews down the slot, and did the same to Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators), who immediately put the rebound back on net. On the next faceoff, it was Matthews quickly from the slot, but again, no dice.
This game never gets to McDavid’s overtime winner if it wasn’t for Binnington’s heroics and 31 saves. McDavid even admitted after the game that he struggled the whole night.
This was Binnington’s night to be Player of the Game.
Binnington let in quite a few bad goals in this tournament, but you always know he has this game in him now and again. In 2019, when he backstopped the Blues to a Stanley Cup title, he made 29 saves on 30 shots in a Game 7 win over the Dallas Stars in the Conference Semifinals, and had 32 saves on 33 shots in a Game 7 Stanley Cup Final win over the Boston Bruins.
That Game 7 win in 2019, by the way, was also in Boston.
Let's get back to the McDavid overtime winner.
First off, Matthews lost the faceoff so badly to the league’s best player, he actually got a shot off at U.S. goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets).
That happens and the puck gets shot around the wall to the right point, where Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche) is standing. He rims it around to Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs), who is well covered in the corner by U.S. defenseman Adam Fox (New York Rangers).
For some unexplained reason, Matthews came off of McDavid in front of the net and went towards Marner in the corner, who is under control. Of course a player with Marner’s talent is going to find the wide-open McDavid, and if you give him that kind of chance, he won’t miss, and he didn’t.
If you’re searching for reasons why the Maple Leafs don’t win in the playoffs, rewatch their star player and captain throughout the whole overtime.
The United States couldn’t get anything going until they took Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights) off the line with Brady and Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers) and inserted Matthews.
Devon Toews (Avalanche) turned the puck over to Matthews behind the net, and as he was bringing the puck out for, what looked like was going to be, a wraparound, he shoveled the puck to Brady Tkachuk, and it was 1-1.
As for Eichel, he was invisible for this whole game.
Matthew Tkachuk’s night was pretty much over, because his groin injury flared up again. Tkachuk only played 6:47, and he’s the type of player that the Americans couldn’t afford to lose.
In the second period, the U.S. took the lead when Matthews tried a pass in front that was blocked by Colton Parayko (Blues), but went right to an open Jake Sanderson (Senators), who had stepped in from the left point uncovered. He was uncovered because Sam Reinhart (Panthers) stood near the net and was caught puck watching instead of picking up his man.
Hellebuyck was unreal in this tournament until the second goal by Canada.
In the neutral zone, Sam Bennett (Panthers) caused a J.T. Miller (Rangers) turnover, and Marner turned up ice quickly to produce an odd-man rush. He found Bennett streaking through the left circle. Hellebuyck went down early, leaving the whole top of the net, and Bennett made no mistake putting the puck there.
You need a big save, the type of save that he had been making the whole tournament until then.
It wasn’t just in overtime that Binnington was huge. He had bell-ringer saves in all three periods, as well as the overtime.
Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche) scored the game’s first goal, getting the puck through a maze of players. His four goals led the 4 Nations Face-Off, and earned him MVP honors.
U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets) assisted on Sanderson’s goal, and led the tournament in scoring with no goals and six assists for six points.
McDavid had three goals and two assists for five points, while Canadian captain Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins) had one goal and four assists for five points.
I have to say that Team USA defenseman Jaccob Slavin (Carolina Hurricanes) put on an absolutely defensive clinic in this tournament. He played over 23 minutes per-game, and was always in passing or shooting lanes to kill plays, and then quickly get pucks up the ice.
If the U.S. had won, I would've said he should be MVP. While he had no points, Team USA isn’t in the championship game without him. He was that good.
Hellebuyck probably would’ve won it, and that would’ve been a good choice. But Slavin was as good as I’ve seen in a tournament like this.
The NHL schedule resumes on Saturday, with the Buffalo Sabres set to host the Rangers for a 5:30 p.m. faceoff.