As a result of Team USA's 3-2 loss against Canada, not a single New York Ranger hoisted the first ever 4 Nations trophy.
Canadien Connor McDavid scored the overtime goal to defeat the USA in the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament. This gives Canada its seventh title in an NHL International Tournament, improving to 2-1 vs the U.S. in championship matchups. And unfortunately for the Red, White and Blue, the Americans have not won a best-on-best tournament since 1996.
Final score from Boston. #4Nations pic.twitter.com/WMCifBn9MG
— USA Hockey (@usahockey) February 21, 2025
However with four Rangers seeing play in the final there's still plenty of storylines to discuss. Here's four rapid takeaways from the first ever 4 Nations Championship Game.
1. The First Period
The Canadiens struck first in the final with a goal under five minutes after puck drop from Nathan MacKinnon. Five of Canada's seven goals scored in the tournament were tallied in the first period. This also marked MacKinnon's fourth goal during the 2025 4 Nation's Face-Off, with him later being named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament
Though, the U.S. put up a goal of its own early on. Brady Tkachuk was a monster this tournament for America. The Ottawa Senators captain scored in the first period around the 17 minute mark with an assist from Auston Matthews.
2. Rangers on Ice
Vincent Trocheck, J.T. Miller, Chris Kreider and Adam Fox were all members of the Team USA roster throughout 4 Nations play. All four of them saw play on the Thursday night championship. Of those four players, Miller had the most shifts (28) and longest TOI (19:34).
Additionally according to the statsheet, all four Blueshirts each put up one shot against the Canadiens.
Proud of our Team USA #NYR. 👏 pic.twitter.com/C6IQYSkNr0
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 21, 2025
3. The Rematch
During the round-robin stage in Montreal on Feb. 13th, Team USA secured a win against Team Canada with a score of 3-1. Although, Team USA could win on Canadian soil with Canadian fans booing their national anthem, they allowed Canada to claim the title during the rematch. Miller had his biggest moment of the tournament during the American's win over Canada. Miller threw hands with Colton Parayko, with Miller being the only Blueshirt to have gotten physical during the 4 Nations Face-Off.
THE UNITED STATES AND CANADA OPEN UP THEIR FOUR NATIONS GAME WITH THREE FIGHTS IN THE FIRST NINE SECONDS! pic.twitter.com/Y7fLhccJ5K
— The Sports Place (@offsportsplace) February 16, 2025
4. Back to Regular NHL Play
After nearly two weeks off, the NHL's regular season is close to resuming. Fewer than two months will remain before Game One of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs begins. With that in mind, the focus will quickly shift back to the approaching postseason. The NHL regular season resumes on Saturday, Feb. 22. There will be a full slate of games as 28 of the league's 32 teams return to the ice.
Though, international hockey play resumes in Milano Cortina's 2026 Winter Olympics. Aside from the Olympics, the World Cup of Hockey will return in February of 2028.
Up Next
New York's first game since the 4 Nations' break will be on Saturday in Buffalo. Puck drop is slated for 5:30 p.m. EST and the game will be available for streaming via ESPN+.