Matthews: 4 Nations loss gives USA 'extra motivation' at Olympics

The 4 Nations Face-Off provided fans with their first look of best-on-best hockey in almost a decade.

For the United States, it allowed the nation to see how they stacked up against their biggest rivals after developing some of the NHL's brightest stars since the last best-on-best tournament at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

One of the biggest names on that list is Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews, who used the opportunity to represent his country for the first time as a professional.

The Scottsdale, Ariz., native was named captain of the U.S. squad and led the team to a perfect record heading into the final, including an electric 3-1 win over Canada at the Bell Centre in Montreal to close out round-robin play.

The final saw the U.S. go up against their continental rival once again and ended in heartbreak as superstar Connor McDavid scored the overtime winning goal to give Canada the tournament victory.

With USA Hockey now moving their focus towards the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano Cortina, Italy, the team is using the loss as motivation.

"I mean, it's tough. Obviously, losing in overtime, a bounce here or there... you never know what can happen. It's a game of inches," Matthews said at the United States Olympics orientation camp in Plymouth, Mich., last week. "I think there is definitely a lot of motivation for that and from losing that game. But I think we showed throughout the tournament we're right there with those guys, and we feel like we're the best hockey country in the world, and so it's going to be exciting to have the opportunity to prove that again.

"The Olympics is a bit of a ways away, but still, everybody's kind of got their mind on that just because of the importance that the Olympics brings to your country, the sport in general and just the opportunity to do that."

Matthews finished the 4 Nations recording three assists in three games while dealing with an injury that hampered him throughout the NHL's regular season.

While USA Hockey has yet to confirm a captain for the Olympic team, he was named as one of the first six players to the roster in June, which includes Vegas Golden Knights forward Jack Eichel, Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, Florida Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk, Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes, and Boston Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy.

The United States' Olympic general manager Bill Guerin was also the architect of the 4 Nations roster and he was impressed by the leadership and poise that Matthews brought to the team.

"I really like Auston, and I thought he did a good job at [4 Nations]," said Guerin. "He's one of those guys; he doesn't have much to say. Most guys like that don't. A lot of the captains I played for or with were like that. They lead quietly by example."

Injuries have been a concern for Matthews over the past two seasons.

Matthews, who turns 28 on Sept. 17, recorded a career-high 69 goals and 107 points in 81 regular-season games during the 2023-24 campaign. While that season was considered hugely successful for Matthews, he missed two crucial games against the Boston Bruins with a head injury during the Maple Leafs' seven-game loss in the first round.

The 6-foot-2 centre then sustained an undisclosed injury during training camp prior to the 2024-25 season that limited him to 67 games in the regular season. He also missed a round-robin game for the United States at the 4 Nations.

He ended up recording a career-low 33 goals to go along with 78 points as well as three goals and 11 points in 13 playoff games while playing through the pain and his team would eventually fall to the back-to-back Stanley Cup champion Panthers in the second round of the playoffs.

Entering training camp this year, Matthews says he's taken steps to manage his health in the off-season and he should be fully healthy by the time he joins the Maple Leafs to begin the 2025-26 campaign.

"My health is good," said Matthews. "I feel a lot better. I think I took really good steps in the off-season as far as that goes, and so I'm really happy with that progress and happy with where I'm at."