The 4 Nations Face-Off concluded on Thursday night at TD Garden in a final matchup between the two North American powerhouses that lived up to every bit of the hype it was given. The most watched non-Olympic hockey game in American history, the team in red, white and blue fell just short, losing to their northerly neighbors in overtime.
On the whole, the tournament was a positive showing for the Americans. They beat Canada in Montreal during the round-robin stage and were oh-so-close to knocking them off again in the final. That said, there were two star forwards who underwhelmed. Let’s take a look at who those are.
Auston Matthews
Auston Matthews had a decent tournament on paper, notching three assists in four games wearing the “C” for Team USA. That said, the story of his tournament ended up being a familiar one: he and his team came up short when it mattered most. He had the opportunity to end the final in overtime when he found himself essentially alone with Canadian netminder Jordan Binnington early in the extra frame and was unable to finish. It would have been a highlight-reel goal, as he would have had to elevate the puck at a sharp angle given how close he was to Binnington and the net, however, it was a play that you would hope your best player could make given the scenario.
Related: Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews Continues to Struggle in High Stakes Games
While disappointing, Matthews’ inability to finish in the big moment was not the biggest letdown of his overtime period. Eight minutes into the period, he found himself next to Connor McDavid in the slot as he was facing Mitch Marner who had the puck in the corner. Despite having two teammates in the general area, Matthews skated over toward his Toronto Maple Leafs teammate to put a body on him, leaving the best player in the world wide-open in the slot. Marner got the puck over to the Oilers’ captain, who put it in the back of the net to end the tournament.
Matthews’ underwhelming period was a continuation of a run where he has been unable to step up and win the big game–a story that fans of the Maple Leafs are all too familiar with. This is in stark contrast with players like Matthew Tkachuk who seem to be able to step up and energize their teams when it matters most.
Jack Hughes
Jack Hughes’ play throughout the tournament was underwhelming. He had an assist in the United States’ first game, which was a blowout win against Finland, but was held quiet for the final three games. He is no doubt an electrifying player to watch and is one of the quickest, most exciting young players in the NHL. In best-on-best play, however, he seemed to get pushed around, particularly in the final. Hughes was held pointless in the second matchup with Canada, registering a minus-2 and mustering up just one shot on goal.
It would be very difficult to make the assessment that Hughes should not have a spot on Team USA for the Milano-Cortina Olympics. He is a player who will probably win a Hart Trophy during his NHL career and is the best forward on the New Jersey Devils, a team that has had a great season so far in 2024-25. That said, Hughes’ play over the last week raised questions over his ability to thrive in best-on-best matchups.
Underwhelming Play
While the United States should be happy with the way their team performed as a whole during the 4 Nations Face-Off, the play of Matthews and Hughes was underwhelming. Matthews was unable to make the big play when it mattered most, feeding into that narrative that has plagued him throughout his career, and Hughes was unable to exhibit the dominance we have been used to seeing from him. Fortunately for these two players and Team USA as a whole, they will have the opportunity to redeem themselves in less than a year during the 2026 Winter Olympics.
