Connor McDavid's golden goal for Canada provides him a championship moment

Connor McDavid added another bullet point to his resume on Thursday night when he scored the game-winning goal in overtime to win the 4 Nations Face-Off championship for Canada. McDavid's golden goal, which gave Canada a 3-2 win, was his only tally of the night on just his third shot on net. 

The Edmonton Oilers star finished the tournament with three goals and five total points. However, he struggled in the championship game until he found open space and rocketed a shot top shelf past Team USA netminder Connor Hellebuyck 8:18 into overtime.

With the dust now settled on the 4 Nations Face-Off and the success of the NHL's return to international play, it's McDavid who will be remembered as the hero. The monumental goal for the 28-year-old also provided him with an opportunity to lift a trophy on center ice, something he fell shy of experiencing this past summer. 

McDavid is seven months removed from having to watch the Florida Panthers celebrate their game-seven victory over his Oilers. McDavid lost in his first trip to the Stanley Cup Final, failing to complete the improbable comeback after going down 0-3 in the series. 

McDavid had 42 points in the 2024 postseason — he came close to approaching Wayne Gretzky's all-time record of 47. He was even named the Conn Smythe winner in a losing effort. But all anyone remembers is that he fell shy of accomplishing the right-of-passage requirement for hockey immortality: winning the Stanley Cup. 

To put McDavid's postseason production into perspective, his fellow Canadian teammate and hockey legend Sidney Crosby has never surpassed 31 points during any playoff run. McDavid also registered 33 in just 16 games in the 2022 postseason. 

And while some will always try to devalue McDavid's legacy until he does lift Lord Stanley's Cup, his game-winner for Canada creates further proof that he's more than capable of stepping up when the lights are the brightest. 

It's now back to work for the Oilers and the three-time Hart Trophy winner. Edmonton is currently tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for the Pacific Division lead with 72 points. 

To his credit, McDavid has 22 goals and 49 assists for 71 points through 49 games so far this season. The four-time Art Ross Trophy winner as the league's single-season point leader has 357 goals, 696 assists and 1,053 points so far in his 10-year NHL career. 

As much as McDavid will forever be celebrated by his fellow Canadians for his game-winner, he will move into an entirely different stratosphere if he can give his country a Stanley Cup triumph by a Canadian-based franchise for the first time since 1993.