James Lang-Imagn Images
Team Canada assistant captain and Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon was clearly and understandably salty in the aftermath of Canada’s 2-1 loss to the United States of America in the gold medal game. That anger, however, led to him resorting to the classic loser refrain of suggesting that they outplayed the winners.
While Team Canada may have out-shot and out-possessed the U.S. Men’s Hockey team in Sunday’s gold meal game, they trailed the Stars and Stripes in one key metric, the only one that matters: the scoreboard. The goal of hockey, and generally every sport, is to score more than your opponent does, and that’s what Team USA did.
Team Canada center Nathan MacKinnon gave a classic loser quote in his postgame press conference by suggesting that Canada outplayed the United States
MacKinnon, however, still thought Canada was the better team — at least if his postgame comments are to be taken at face value.
“You be the judge of who was the better team today,” MacKinnon said to reporters after the game, via the Canadian Press.
Perhaps MacKinnon was still stewing over his empty net miss that could’ve swung the game in favor of Canada when it was tied 1-1.
Canada didn’t lose because of Hellebuyck’s heroics
They lost because of MacKinnon
Missing an empty net is one thing
Freezing up on the most important defensive play of his life is another
He pulled up on the last play when he could’ve easily gotten to the puck before Werenski https://t.co/YdWqNjCoDe pic.twitter.com/3ZNEdN6Ual
— The Art of Player Props (@LukaOhtani) February 22, 2026
MacKinnon’s comments are literally the sole reason why the crowd chant “Scoreeeeboaaaard!” exists: you can debate quality of play until you’re blue in the face because it’s ultimately objective. What’s subjective, though, is the fact that the United States outscored Canada 2-1, which is all that matters.