Nathan MacKinnon makes his feelings known on Team USA rematch at 4 Nations Face-Off final

Nathan MacKinnon is ready for Canada's rematch against Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off championship game. After Canada’s 5-3 win over Finland on Monday, he expressed confidence that his team has what it takes to beat the Americans.

"The last thing we wanted to do was go home, today or tomorrow or whatever," MacKinnon said. "So, whoever we are playing in the finals, obviously, it's gonna be the Americans, you know, we'd love to play them again. We feel like we can beat those guys. We plan on playing a little better Thursday."

In Canada’s game against the USA earlier in the tournament, Nathan MacKinnon struggled. He played 18:31 minutes, had only one shot on goal, and finished with a -1 rating (+/-). Against Finland, he improved, scoring twice to help Canada reach the final.

Canada’s performance against Finland was also spearheaded by Sam Reinhart, who had three assists. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby each had a goal and an assist, while Jordan Binnington made 23 saves.

While Team USA won 3-1 against Canada on Saturday, the Canadians now have a chance for revenge in the championship game on Thursday at TD Garden. Fans are looking forward to seeing if Canada can make some adjustments and defeat their continental rivals.

Nathan MacKinnon speaks about his performance against Finland

Nathan MacKinnon helped Canada win against Finland in Boston on Monday. He scored two goals in 15:26 minutes. His early goal, along with Connor McDavid’s, goal - gave Canada a strong start. McDavid opened the scoring at 4:13 of the first period with an unassisted goal. Less than a minute later, MacKinnon made it 2-0 with a snapshot, assisted by Sam Reinhart and Brandon Hagel.

When asked about setting the tone for Canada, MacKinnon said after the game:

"I'm just trying to play the best I can and (Sam Reinhart) made a great play and sprung me, and I just finished it off."

In the second period, Nathan MacKinnon scored again at 5:03, assisted by Sidney Crosby and Reinhart, making it 4-0. Finland fought back in the third period, Esa Lindell scored at 13:19 to make it 4-1. Mikael Granlund added two late goals in a 6-on-5 situation, closing the gap to 4-3.

But Sidney Crosby scored an empty-net goal at 19:04 to secure victory for the Canadians who managed to escape the late Finnish onslaught.