Canada Wins the 4 Nations Tournament

 LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! Ok disclaimer at the beginning again, I am a casual hockey fan and my takes are those of a casual hockey fan. This is a theme that you will see peppered throughout this so if you want to get mad at my casual hockey fan takes, please feel free to argue with me. That was amazing, the NHL is so smart for this tournament. It actually sucked a basketball fan like myself right back into hockey again which I never thought would be possible. I've got a lot of thoughts on what I witnessed last night and I am very excited to have a platform to get them out.

Jordan Binnington

I have to start here. All week long, the casuals like myself were absolutely bashing this guy. I was at lunch on Monday with some friends and the topic of our conversation was how "ass" our goalie is. For the round robin portion of the tournament, Binnington did allow a cheap goal or two in each of the games. It was actually what sunk Canada in a 2-1 loss against the US in the round robin. The real hockey fans knew what was up though. I was told before the game last night that although Binnington's stats are pedestrian in regular season low stakes games, when they matter he shows up. I didn't believe it until I saw it with my own eyes and now I am seriously considering buying a Jordan Binnington Canada jersey. In overtime Auston Matthews (slander will be saved for the bottom of this one) had 2 (or 3?) amazing opportunities to end the game but was stonewalled by Binnington's glove and blocker. Binnington absolutely stood on his head in the third period and overtime and did just enough to give Canada an opportunity to take it home. Jordan Binnington, clearly I know nothing about hockey, you're a hero. 

Connor McDavid (Him)

Man, what a cathartic experience it is to have the best player in the world on your team. McDavid showed up to every single game this tournament like a superstar is supposed to. He was a great teammate setting guys up and when he had the opportunity to score he didn't waiver for a second. In overtime with everyone in the country practically ripping their hair out, Connor McDavid somehow got left uncovered in the slot, Mitch Marner found him with a perfect pass and the best player in the world delivered the heroic goal. I can't even describe how hyped the sports bar we were in was after that one. There's very few times as a Canadian that you get to break off into a drunk Oh Canada in a crowd and Connor McDavid just delivered us that opportunity on a silver platter. This is a goal I and a lot of hockey fans will remember for the rest of our lives. 

NHL Nailed it

What a way to showcase the sport! As I mentioned, for the last 5 years at least I have been primarily watching basketball, checking in to the Leafs when the playoffs start and making fun of my diehard fan friends when they believe too hard. I didn't think anything would get me back on hockey's side, and then the NHL decided to do a best on best tournament in the middle of their season and here I am writing about it. Every game I watched was thrilling, nerve wracking and entertaining as anything. We got 3 fights in 9 seconds in the first matchup, an amazing 3 on 3 overtime against Sweden, a near comeback heart attack against Finland and then finally the moment Canada has been begging for in overtime in the championship game. People have pointed out that it is going to be hard to go back to watching regular hockey after seeing the best players in the world duke it out in Red and White, but I have a craving now which is insane! If the goal is to get casual fans to start watching the sport more, mission accomplished NHL you've absolutely nailed this one. 

Matthews = Harden

OK if you've read any of the other 95 articles I've posted on this blog, you know I am a big fan of slandering, probably even more so than celebrating. Auston Matthews is the best player and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. We've had the privilege of having one of the best players in the NHL on our team in Toronto for 9 years now and in the regular season, he's been amazing. Multiple 100 point seasons, a Hart trophy, multiple Richard trophies and essentially the 9 best years the Leafs have had in my lifetime. I want to make it clear, I don't watch a ton of hockey until the playoffs start, so all of those accolades in the regular season are completely missed by this casual fan. Once the playoffs roll around, I like to play a game called where's Auston? Being a fan of the Leafs you notice it a bit, this guy doesn't score when the team needs him to most, even though he's been scoring all season. But that's hockey right? You brush it off since it's a small sample in the playoffs and sometimes you just don't score in a game, normal stuff. Then we got the opportunity to see Auston Matthews on the other side and let me tell you, it's opened my eyes to how not clutch this guy is. 

James Harden is the same story. Amazing accolades, scoring titles, an MVP, practically a guaranteed playoff spot when he's on your team in his prime. In the playoffs he still does have big games, and Matthews does as well, but when a Harden led team's back is against the wall in a game 7 scenario you can guarantee that James is not going to show up. The comparisons don't end there, while James is a gifted scorer and passer, he's always struggled with being engaged on defense. The ultimate moment last night came when Auston Matthews fell asleep puck watching freeing up his man, Connor McDavid, for a wide open shot in the slot, in overtime, in a winner takes all game. In a tournament where the arguable best scorer in the league scored 0 goals, he also had the defensive blunder that sealed the deal for Canada. If that isn't James Hardenesque I don't know what is. I've been pointing out that it is going to kind of suck to go back to cheering for this guy to try and get it done for our favorite team when he's now proven time and time again that he just isn't that guy in the clutch. It's especially difficult when we just spent the last week watching Connor McDavid be undoubtably that guy by every definition of the term. Matthews, just like Harden, you do a great job of getting us to the playoffs every year but it's becoming more an more clear why the Leafs disappoint. Prove me wrong. 

That's that! How exciting, I'll probably be buzzing the rest of the day and I really didn't think hockey could do that to me again. Go Canada, we needed this, we got this and we're going to celebrate the shit out of it!