Matthews 'great leader' as United States captain at 4 Nations Face-Off

With the U.S. trailing 1-0 late in the first period, Matthews intercepted a pass behind the Canada net, circled in front and slid a pass to Brady Tkachuk, who tied the score at 16:52 of the first.

He then helped give the U.S. a 2-1 lead when he picked up a loose puck in front and tried to backhand it on net, but it deflected to Jake Sanderson, who banged it home at 7:32 of the second.

Those were his second and third assists for the tournament, which were the third most for the U.S.

But don’t judge him by his numbers alone, said Larkin.

“He’s such a great player, I think someone that just imposes his will,” Larkin said. “He’s our captain, and he played like it tonight. And it is inspiring for all of us, blocking shots, winning face-offs, backchecking, (taking) short shifts, putting the team before himself.

“It would have been great to see him get that one and have us celebrating instead.”

That one was the shot on goal on the pass from Larkinl. In fact, three of his four shots came in overtime.

“He (Binnington) made some big saves, kudos to him,” Matthews said. “I had some good lucks there, but he shut the door.”

As for the game itself, Matthews said, “it could have gone either way.”

“It’s disappointing, but I couldn’t be prouder of the group,” Matthews said. “We competed the whole tournament to overcome many adversities.”

Competed hard because of the example Matthews set, according to Werenski.

“A guy like Auston doesn’t cheat the game. He plays the right way. He plays the right way defensively, and he creates chances just through work,” Werenski said. “And obviously his skill takes over after that.

“I think he was a great leader for us. I think a lot of guys just followed his lead, the way he played. So I learned a lot from watching him play, and how he leads. He had a hell of a game tonight.”