Nathan MacKinnon outlines Team Canada's biggest need ahead of Team USA rematch at 4 Nations final

Team Canada star Nathan MacKinnon was instrumental in leading his nation to a crucial 4 Nations Face-Off victory on Monday afternoon at TD Garden.

Facing potential elimination if they lost, the Canadian team worked to earn a 5-3 victory over Finland.

It sets up a rematch with Team USA, and the forward believes he and his teammates learned from their loss to the Americans. After the game, MacKinnon said:

"We need good puck play. Not much happened for either team. We had a couple plays we thought we had that didn't work out, they went the other way and made us pay. Good puck play, I think we were right there to tie it up, it just didn't work out. But we feel good about it."

MacKinnon believes his team is ready for its rematch on Thursday evening. He said:

"We feel like we can beat those guys and we plan on playing a little better Thursday."

Nathan MacKinnon had two goals in the two-goal win, and he was +3 overall in a little over 15 minutes on the ice as part of Canada's top line. Connor McDavid, Brayden Point and Sidney Crosby also had goals en route to a clutch victory.

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Nathan MacKinnon, Team Canada gets its rematch in 4 Nations Face-Off

Team Canada dominated its way into the 4 Nations Face-Off final on February 20. They took a commanding three-goal lead in the first period and never looked back en route to eliminating Finland.

The Finns did make it interesting with two rapid goals with less than two minutes remaining in the contest, but the Canadians did enough to win after Sidney Crosby iced it with 56 seconds remaining.

The Canadians won the penultimate contest of the 4 Nations Face-Off (Imagn)

Team USA was already in the final thanks to their unbeaten start, but Canada needed a win today. If they'd lost, they would've been eliminated. If they'd won in overtime or a shootout, they would've needed Team USA to register a point tonight against Sweden.

Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper's side left nothing to chance, though. They earned a 5-3 win and set up an official rematch with the United States after a 3-1 loss on Saturday night in Montreal.

In the first contest, Connor McDavid gave the Canadians an early goal, but the USA surged in front and stifled their competition until the end when an empty net led to a final, sealing goal from the Americans.