Defiant Nathan MacKinnon shares bold 'better team' take about Canada loss to United States

The 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics closed out in style, with a thrilling men's hockey game between the United States and Canada that Team USA won. 

Jack Hughes scored a "golden goal" early in overtime, propelling the Americans to a 2-1 victory and securing the gold medal on Sunday. 

Following the crushing loss, Canada star Nathan MacKinnon suggested he and his teammates were unlucky not to win gold.

Nathan MacKinnon feels "better team" lost the Team USA-Canada game

"You be the judge of who was the better team today," a defiant MacKinnon said after the game, per Peter Botte of the New York Post. 

Certain stats show MacKinnon may have a point, at least regarding the second and third periods of the contest. According to ESPN's Emily Kaplan, the Canadians outshot Team USA 19-8 in the second period, and Canada ended the game with a total shots advantage of 42-28. That said, goalie Connor Hellebuyck became an American hockey icon when he made 41 saves to set a new Olympic record for the most saves by a goaltender in a single gold-medal match involving NHL players.

Meanwhile, The Athletic's Arpon Basu noted that MacKinnon found himself alone on the left side of the ice with a chance to score on an open net midway through the game's third period. However, MacKinnon failed to produce what could have been quite the personal highlight reel moment. 

Canada win over Team USA "wasn’t meant to be"

"Just couldn’t finish, didn’t have that touch tonight," MacKinnon said about what went wrong for Canada on Sunday. "I missed a wide-open net. Yeah, just didn’t have that finishing. I thought we generated so many looks. It felt like it really wasn’t meant to be tonight." 

ESPN's Greg Wyshynski was among those who pointed out shortly after Team USA secured its first gold medal in men's hockey since the 1980 "Miracle on Ice" side that "the Canadians deserved gold" with their efforts, and that Sunday's result will fuel a rivalry that had often been dominated by the country up north. One can't help but wonder if USA players will remember MacKinnon's words the next time these teams meet for a competitive matchup.