You can list a couple of reasons for Canada’s loss to the U.S. yesterday. Whether it was Cale Makar not playing, Sidney Crosby’s giveaway leading to the States’ second goal, or Canada not getting enough high-quality chances. Or we can just call a spade a spade—the U.S.A.’s goaltending is just better, straight up. The first goal Jordan Binnington gave up should have been saved. That killed a lot of momentum for Canada, because before that, Canada was carrying a lot of the play. That goal by Jake Guentzel gave the U.S. life, and they ended up winning the game. Don’t get me wrong, the U.S. has the best goaltending trio in the tournament by far. Connor Hellebuyck, Jake Oettinger, and Jeremy Swayman are three top-ten goalies in the league. But in a close game, that’s what it comes down to: What goalie makes the big save and which one gives up the bad goal.
"These are the types of games you really live for as a hockey player." 🏒
Carey Price joins @DavidAmber and @FriedgeHNIC to discuss what he's seen so far between the USA and Canada, his time with Canada, Sidney Crosby, and more. pic.twitter.com/NsUqwVUQtF
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 16, 2025
This got me thinking about the days Canada would dominate on all ends of the ice, especially in the crease. In years past, Canada has had elite goaltending. In 2016 and 2014, we had Carey Price, whose goals-against average in the 2014 Olympics was 0.60, which is absolutely bonkers. In 2010, we had Roberto Luongo, who was one of the best goalies in the league at the time. In 2002, we had Martin Brodeur, who is arguably the best goalie of all time. So what happened?
Canada’s not producing horrible goalies—Adin Hill, Jordan Binnington, and Logan Thompson aren’t horrible goalies. They just aren’t superstar goalies like we’ve had in years past. I could go into coaching or goaltending development if you really wanted me to. But I think the simple answer is that the rest of the world has simply caught up. The U.S. is producing so much elite talent, Sweden and Finland are as well, and even though they aren’t participating, Russia is still an elite hockey country. Which honestly is a good thing—it means hockey’s growing, and that’s something we all want. But that just means Canada has got to stay on top. As for Canada, they have to win with what they’ve got and roll with Binnington and Hill for the rest of the Four Nations Face-Off.