The inaugural Four Nations Face-Off hockey tournament came to an exciting conclusion Thursday night when Canada defeated the United States in a 3-2 overtime victory.
Where there’s a victor, there’s a loser, and sometimes certain athletes contribute to their team’s shortcomings. These athletes are favorably called bobbleheads.
With three other nations falling short, here are the bobbleheads who helped ensure the teams walked away from the tournament empty-handed.
Finland — Juuse Saros
Finland finished last in the tournament with 2 points, posting one overtime win and two regulation losses.
Those two losses came with goalie Juuse Saros, who began the tournament on a sour note, allowing six goals against the United States.
Saros was benched in favor of Kevin Lankinen, who helped secure the team’s lone win in overtime against Sweden.
Sweden — William Nylander
Sweden closed out the tournament on a high note, defeating the United States 2-1 on Feb. 17.
This came in spite of the lackluster efforts from right winger William Nylander, who finished the tournament with a meager two assists, two points and three shots on goal in three games.
During Sweden’s 4-3 overtime loss to Canada on opening night, Nylander got some light cardio in, managing only two shots on goal while taking an early high-sticking penalty that led to a Canada goal just 56 seconds in.
The next game against Finland was another 4-3 overtime loss, where Nylander contributed slightly more with an assist on an Erik Karlsson goal in the second period that gave Sweden a 3-2 lead that they would let slip minutes later.
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The third period was scoreless, sending the game to overtime, when Sweden would lose on a Mikael Granlund wrist shot through the legs of Swedish goalie Linus Ullmark.
Sweden needed more from Nylander in a must-win game, especially with the lack of scoring in the critical third period.
United States — Auston Matthews
Matthews went goalless throughout the tournament — a far cry from his all-star production while on the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Matthews had two assists in the championship game, but his mistakes stood out in overtime. He had three chances to win the tournament for the United States in overtime, with his first shot going straight into the body of Canadian goalie Jordan Binnington.
Binnington made acrobatic saves on Matthews’ next two shots.
On the tournament-winning goal, Matthews left Connor McDavid wide open in front of the net, allowing the three-time NHL MVP to score and secure Canada’s revenge on U.S. soil.
Simon Reseigh is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. He can be reached at sports@dailylobo.com or on X @simon_reseigh
