See the Canada Goal to Beat US in OT Thriller

Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of overtime in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game 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 a geopolitical brawl over anthems and annexation as much as international hockey supremacy, the AP reports. (See the winning goal.) Nathan MacKinnon and Sam Bennett also scored for Canada. Jordan Binnington made 25 saves in the first three periods and six more in the extra period on the same ice where he helped the St. Louis Blues win the Stanley Cup 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.

The already ripe rivalry took on an added intensity with the cross-border animosity following US President Trump's tariff threats and talk of making Canada the 51st US state. Trump called the American team Thursday morning to wish it well, then turned to Truth Social to poke Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with more annexation chatter. Fans in their team jerseys waved flags, shouted for their countrymen, and continued the ritual booing of the opposing national anthem that has become a nightly undercard for what most agree has been one of the best international hockey competitions in decades. (The singer of the Canadian national anthem also changed some lyrics to protest Trump.)