The No. 1 picks from the 2015 and 2016 NHL drafts, respectively, McDavid and Matthews were teased with a version of it as teammates on the made-up Team North America youth squad at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. But until the 4 Nations Face-Off, they had never played for the respective countries at true best-on-best.

On Monday, with Canada looking to guarantee a spot in the tournament final with a victory against Finland, it was McDavid again who opened the scoring en route to a 5-3 victory. When it was time to set the tone of the game, the Edmonton Oilers center did exactly that.

BOSTON — 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.

Just hours before the 4 Nations Face-Off final between Team Canada and Team USA, Canada forward Connor McDavid spoke with reporters about Thursday’s championship game, the level of competition he’s seen and finally having the opportunity to compete against the best players in the world on the international stage.