When the 4 Nations Face-Off ended last season, the look of frustration and disappointment on Auston Matthews’ face summed up the stunning victory by Team Canada. The Americans had pushed the Canadians to the brink in a hard-fought game wrought with fisticuffs.
In the end, the Americans took second place. Much of the finger-pointing was directed at Matthews. The American captain ended a subpar 4 Nations with just three assists.
The criticism seemed justified. Matthews once again failed to step up in a big game, or so it seemed. Amid the poor offensive showing, Matthews’ strong defensive play got lost. The criticism seemed to forget that the US beat Canada handily in their first meeting. And Matthews was a big reason why the American side didn’t get lit up.
Still, Matthews has spent much of the last year enduring scrutiny. This year’s criticism continued to roll out when Matthews was named captain of the American squad. Sure, there could have been other worthy candidates. But coach Mike Sullivan went with Matthews.
And now Matthews has stepped up to show what he can do.
Matthews scored twice in Sunday’s win over Germany. The game featured the strongest opponent the US has faced until now. It was Matthews who powered the Americans to a crucial victory.
The 5-1 final was possible thanks to an all-around effort, with Matthews’ power play goal early in the second period being the game-winner. Matthews added one more in the third to leave zero doubt this was the United States’ night.
The victory clinched first place for the US in Group C and an all-important bye to the quarterfinals.
Matthews climbing up the scoring charts
Matthews ended the game with two goals and one assist. Those points now place the Maple Leafs star fifth in the tournament in scoring. While he’s tied with several players at five points, Matthews’ three goals give him the leg up.
The American captain is one point behind Macklin Celebrini, Juraj Slafkovsky, and Sidney Crosby for spots two through four. That’s the sort of performance that Maple Leafs and US fans expected from Matthews heading into the Olympics.
Don’t look now, but it seems that Matthews is getting hot. He’s found a home with Matt Boldy of the Minnesota Wild and Jake Guentzel of the Tampa Bay Lightning. That line could become the Americans’ strongest heading into the knockout stage.
The circumstances could be lining up for Matthews to play the role Connor McDavid played last season at the 4 Nations. A gold medal at the 2026 Olympics would not only be a historic feat for Matthews and the US, but also the next best thing to a Stanley Cup.