Connor McDavid wants another shot at the United States after Canada lost 3-1 Saturday in a thrilling contest at the 4 Nations Face-Off.
"It was fast, tight-checking, competitive, emotional. It had everything you would want in a hockey game," McDavid said, according to The Athletic's Arpon Basu. "It sucks it didn't go our way, but this thing's far from over."
The U.S. clinched a spot in the final with the regulation win. Canada will join the Americans in the title game with a regulation win against Finland on Monday. If Canada beats Finland in overtime, Sweden must go to overtime or lose in regulation for Canada to advance. A Canadian loss of any kind ends its tournament.
Sam Bennett reiterated McDavid's sentiment but made it clear the team is still focused on the task at hand.
"It's the greatest rivalry in hockey, and they got us tonight," Bennett said, according to NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "I mean, we're not going to look ahead to a (rematch), but obviously, we want them again."
The Canadians aren't the only ones who want a rematch. American Dylan Larkin would enjoy it as well.
"This was a special one," Larkin said, according to Sportsnet. "It would be great to see those guys again."
Matthew Tkachuk, who started the first of three fights in the opening nine seconds of the game, described what the win meant to him.
"They've had a ton of success over the last bunch of years," Tkachuk said, according to The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun. "This is as big of a game as it gets. I mean, this is what you dream about. A chance to knock off Canada in Canada on a Saturday night in Montreal, in that type of environment. It was incredible."
Canada had won 17 straight games in best-on-best tournaments. Its last loss came against the United States in the preliminary round of the 2010 Olympics. Canada went on to avenge the loss in the gold-medal game with Sidney Crosby's iconic overtime winner.
Head coach Jon Cooper is turning his attention to Finland with a sense of pride.
"The result is unfortunate, but I don't think anybody can leave the building and say that that team didn't stick up for each other or care for each other and play with passion," Cooper said, according to Zeisberger. "And when you do have that, the ceiling is limitless, what the team can do. So, in that regard, I'm extremely proud of the guys.
"Now it's on us here to tweak some things and find a way to beat Finland."
