NHL insider singles out 'one big mistake' of Canada against 'flawless' USA during 4 Nations Face-Off clash

Team USA defeated Canada 3-1 in the 4 Nations Face-Off, securing a place in the final. The game started with three fights in nine seconds and Canada took an early lead. However, Team USA played strong defense and took advantage of their rival’s mistakes.

TSN’s Jeff O’Neill and Darren Dreger analyzed Canada’s loss. O’Neill pointed out that Jordan Binnington made good saves but allowed soft goals in the middle of the net.

"It's like Jordan Binnington broke even for me tonight, there were some spectacular saves, but you see those dribblers and...," O'Neill said. (3:57 onwards) "There's been four of them in two games, and if you keep staying with them, you're taking a chance of one more goal in the middle of the night. It might cost you the tournament."

Connor McDavid scored first at 5:31 of the first period, finishing a pass from Drew Doughty. The US tied it at 10:15 when Jake Guentzel scored from the left face-off circle. Dylan Larkin gave the US a 2-1 lead at 13:33 of the second period with a blocker-side shot. Guentzel’s empty-net goal at 18:41 sealed the win.

Dreger highlighted one key mistake by Sidney Crosby that led to Larkin’s goal. Crosby’s turnover and a bad line change created a 2-on-1 chance, which Larkin finished.

"From a defensive perspective, Team USA was near flawless in this one against Canada," Dreger said. (4:22 onwards) "Canada amade one big mistake, and the captain, Sidney Crosby, owned that postgame."

"I mean, we saw the turnover that led to the Dylan Larkin goal. I mean, that's an uncharacteristic play by a very seasoned, decorated center man in Sidney Crosby, and then you've got the bad line change on top of that... So it was kind of a collection of mishaps..."

Team USA’s defense kept the game in control, and goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves.

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Canada’s captain Sidney Crosby talked about the loss to the USA

The loss ended Team Canada’s captain, Sidney Crosby’s 26-game international win streak. Talking about the game, he said the tight defense gave less scoring chances.

“I think that, you know, the hockey is tight-checking,” Crosby said to the media. “It doesn't allow for a ton of those. But I think definitely when we get opportunities, we got to make sure we execute. There's not a lot of time and space, and there's not a lot of breakdowns. So when you get one, you got to try to capitalize.”

The game was close regarding shots on goal (CA 26, US 23) and face-off wins (US 51.7%, CA 48.3%). Team USA’s strong defense and Canada’s costly mistakes made the difference.