This is The Athletic’s daily sports newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Pulse directly in your inbox. Good morning! I challenge your call. Of course it was Canada, and of course it was in overtime.

The North American rivals turned what had been a tune-up for the 2026 Olympics into an geopolitical brawl over anthems and annexation as much as international hockey supremacy.

Canada has beaten Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off in an overtime thriller, 3-2, Thursday night in Boston. Connor McDavid scored the game winner to become a national hero and hockey legend. After dropping the first meeting against Team USA on Saturday in Montreal,

Canada’s men’s hockey team defeated the USA 3-2 in overtime Thursday to capture the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off Championship as the NHL put on a show in the first edition of this midseason international tournament.

The result was the culmination of a midseason tournament that featured stars from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States — and a surprisingly political atmosphere.

Despite being the first team to secure its spot in the final with a 3-1 win over the Canadians in the round-robin, the United States was hindered by an ailing bench and stifled by an opposing goalie in Jordan Binnington on Thursday night.

It's coming down to the wire in Thursday night's 4 Nations Face-Off final between Team USA and Canada, as the game was tied 2–2 entering the third period. So what happens if championship goes to overtime?

The U.S. and Canada met in a senior men's hockey championship game for the first time since the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Amid the euphoria of the Golden Goal, that’s how Joe Thornton described teammate Sidney Crosby after he froze the clock on a 3-2 overtime victory over an upstart Team USA 15 years ago in Vancouver. Those words came to mind here again.