Paul Bissonnette doesn't mince his words on Team Canada's "brutal loss" to Team USA at 4 Nations Face-Off

Former NHL winger Paul Bissonnette was a harsh critic after Team Canada’s defeat to the USA on Saturday night in Montreal. Despite Connor McDavid putting the team on the board early in the first period, Canada succumbed to a 3-1 loss in the second game of the round-robin format of 4 Nations Face-Off.

Bissonnette took to X to express his disappointment with Team Canada’s performance on the night and heavily criticized the team’s play. He also praised Team USA’s strong showing as he tweeted:

“Brutal loss. Lots to clean up for Canada. Couldn’t forecheck. Line changes were awful. Too slow. Too much cross ice fluff the USA wasn’t falling for. Americans played a great game. #4nations”

Connor McDavid opened the scoring for Canada at 5:34 of the first period, but Team USA responded quickly, with Jake Guentzel tying the game shortly after at 6:21. In the second period, Dylan Larkin put the U.S. ahead 2-1, and Guentzel added an empty-net goal at 19:57 to seal the win.

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Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby reflects on missed opportunities after 3-1 loss

The 3-1 loss on the night also snapped Canadian superstar and team captain Sidney Crosby’s 26-game tournament win streak. While speaking at the postgame presser, Crosby pointed out that the tight defense made it hard for his team to play fast, but when Team Canada had a chance, it needed to take it.

“I think that, you know, the hockey is tight-checking,” he said. “It doesn't allow for a ton of those. But I think definitely when we get opportunities, we got to make sure we execute. You know, 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.”

Crosby mentioned that even small mistakes, like a turnover, led to goals and stressed how little errors can make a big difference in such games. He also claimed the team could have shot more in some moments but overall did a good job getting the puck to the net.

“Thought we did a good job of getting pucks in there and trying to get tips and second, third chances,” Crosby said. “But, you know, we'll have to look at it and see if there were opportunities maybe to shoot more.

“It didn't feel like that a whole lot, if there were maybe a couple times, got a lot of skill here, here, and guys that are capable of making those kinds of plays. So obviously we want to get pucks to the net, but guys have to trust their instincts too.”

The loss ended Team Canada’s 26-game win streak in tournament play, dating back to 2010. It was also the first time the USA had beaten Canada in a best-on-best tournament in 15 years. Canada will now have to defeat Finland in regulation on Monday (or in overtime if Sweden beats the U.S. in regulation) to make it to the championship game.