<p>Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA captain Auston Matthews is grateful to have the experience of representing his country despite falling short in the 4 Nations Face-Off Finals.</p>
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<p>He was outstanding throughout the tournament, <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/mitch-marner-auston-matthews-understated-defensive-impact-4-nations-faceoff">showcasing his defensive prowess</a> and was a major reason why the Americans only allowed two goals against in the round-robin games he played in. Matthews finished the tournament with three assists, two of which were primary apples <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/team-canada-defeats-team-usa-ot-win-4-nations-face-off" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the championship game</a>.</p>
<p>While he was a step behind his Leafs teammate, Mitch Marner, who <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/mitch-marner-reflects-connor-mcdavid-golden-goal-hoisting-trophy">delivered a sharp pass to Connor McDavid for the overtime winner</a>, Matthews was far from the reason why the Americans fell short of the ultimate prize. Instead of placing blame on anyone for the loss, Matthews told reporters after the game that he felt his teammates left it all out on the ice.</p>
<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m super proud of this group. I thought we battled our hearts out the whole tournament tonight,&#8221; Matthews said. &#8220;You know, we had the opportunities to end it. It didn&#8217;t happen. But I couldn&#8217;t be prouder of this group. I thought the whole tournament, everybody gave 100 percent.&#8221;</p>
<p>Matthews had a good chunk of the scoring opportunities he was describing as he had at least three grade-a chances in OT alone, all of which were denied by Jordan Binnington. Few Americans were as dominant and impactful in this one as their captain, showing he can step up when the stakes were high and the lights shined bright.</p>
<p>When assessing how the game went, Matthews felt the two teams were evenly matched and the outcome could have gone either way. That&#8217;s why the loss stings so much because he felt the US had a great to chance to come home with the trophy.</p>
<p>&#8220;Yeah, it was playoff hockey,&#8221; Matthews said. &#8220;I mean, I thought this whole tournament, every game, you got some of the best players in the world coming together and playing for their respective countries. It&#8217;s good hockey. Hard to create sometimes, but, it&#8217;s tight, it&#8217;s fast, it&#8217;s physical. Probably some of the best hockey that&#8217;s been played in a long time.&#8221;</p>
<p>After the 4 Nations, Leafs fans can take solace in the fact that <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/7-takeaways-from-canada-usa-mcdavid-gets-iconic-moment-marner-outstanding-playmaker">their captain is a gamer and can step up his game when it matters the most</a>. They also can count on him to be effective in neutralizing the opposition as he did a masterful job of in the USA&#8217;s round-robin win over Canada on Saturday.</p>
<p>Matthews felt there was a lot he could take away from the tournament to apply not only towards the rest of the 2024-25 season but for the next international competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.</p>
<p>&#8220;I mean, I think when you come into these situations with guys from, you know, all over, I think you learn a lot throughout the experience. And I think there&#8217;s a lot that you can take away and, you know, kind of utilize and process as we continue into the last couple months of our season. I feel very fortunate to have this experience and then share it with all these guys. And it&#8217;ll be something that you&#8217;ll take with you forever.&#8221;</p>
<p>Matthews left it all out on the ice because of how proud he was to put on his country&#8217;s colours, and as their captain no less.</p>
<p>&#8220;It meant a lot. It&#8217;s an honor to wear this jersey and represent our country,&#8221; he said about the overall experience. &#8220;Obviously, a lot of familiar faces, guys that played with each other in the past. So it&#8217;s definitely a special honor, something that they definitely don&#8217;t take for granted.&#8221;</p>
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Toronto Maple Leafs and Team USA captain Auston Matthews is grateful to have the experience of representing his country despite falling short in the 4 Nations Face-Off Finals.
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He was outstanding throughout the tournament, <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/mitch-marner-auston-matthews-understated-defensive-impact-4-nations-faceoff">showcasing his defensive prowess</a> and was a major reason why the Americans only allowed two goals against in the round-robin games he played in. Matthews finished the tournament with three assists, two of which were primary apples <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/team-canada-defeats-team-usa-ot-win-4-nations-face-off" target="_blank" rel="noopener">in the championship game</a>.

While he was a step behind his Leafs teammate, Mitch Marner, who <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/mitch-marner-reflects-connor-mcdavid-golden-goal-hoisting-trophy">delivered a sharp pass to Connor McDavid for the overtime winner</a>, Matthews was far from the reason why the Americans fell short of the ultimate prize. Instead of placing blame on anyone for the loss, Matthews told reporters after the game that he felt his teammates left it all out on the ice.

"I'm super proud of this group. I thought we battled our hearts out the whole tournament tonight," Matthews said. "You know, we had the opportunities to end it. It didn't happen. But I couldn't be prouder of this group. I thought the whole tournament, everybody gave 100 percent."

Matthews had a good chunk of the scoring opportunities he was describing as he had at least three grade-a chances in OT alone, all of which were denied by Jordan Binnington. Few Americans were as dominant and impactful in this one as their captain, showing he can step up when the stakes were high and the lights shined bright.

When assessing how the game went, Matthews felt the two teams were evenly matched and the outcome could have gone either way. That's why the loss stings so much because he felt the US had a great to chance to come home with the trophy.

"Yeah, it was playoff hockey," Matthews said. "I mean, I thought this whole tournament, every game, you got some of the best players in the world coming together and playing for their respective countries. It's good hockey. Hard to create sometimes, but, it's tight, it's fast, it's physical. Probably some of the best hockey that's been played in a long time."

After the 4 Nations, Leafs fans can take solace in the fact that <a href="https://theleafsnation.com/news/7-takeaways-from-canada-usa-mcdavid-gets-iconic-moment-marner-outstanding-playmaker">their captain is a gamer and can step up his game when it matters the most</a>. They also can count on him to be effective in neutralizing the opposition as he did a masterful job of in the USA's round-robin win over Canada on Saturday.

Matthews felt there was a lot he could take away from the tournament to apply not only towards the rest of the 2024-25 season but for the next international competition at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan.

"I mean, I think when you come into these situations with guys from, you know, all over, I think you learn a lot throughout the experience. And I think there's a lot that you can take away and, you know, kind of utilize and process as we continue into the last couple months of our season. I feel very fortunate to have this experience and then share it with all these guys. And it'll be something that you'll take with you forever."

Matthews left it all out on the ice because of how proud he was to put on his country's colours, and as their captain no less.

"It meant a lot. It's an honor to wear this jersey and represent our country," he said about the overall experience. "Obviously, a lot of familiar faces, guys that played with each other in the past. So it's definitely a special honor, something that they definitely don't take for granted."
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Auston Matthews looks back on captaining USA at 4 Nations Face-Off: ‘I’m super proud of this group’

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