Stone: We felt the energy from '40 million Canadians'

Multiple members of Team Canada acknowledged that they felt the energy of millions of fans during Thursday's 4 Nations Face-Off final.

"Yeah, we wanted this one," forward Mark Stone told Sportsnet's Kyle Bukauskas after Canada's 3-2 overtime victory over the United States. "Forty million Canadians sitting at home, you feel that energy rooting us on. The pride we have to play for our country every time we get (the chance to wear) the flag on our chest, it's a special feeling.

"Hockey's what we do, right? Brings us together. I'm just glad we were able to get this win."

Head coach Jon Cooper agreed with Stone's sentiment.

"I just hope Canada's proud, because every player in that room is proud to be a Canadian," he said. "Did we need a win? Not only our team, but Canada needed a win. And the players (carried) that on their shoulders and they took it seriously.

"This one was different. This wasn't a win for themselves. This was a win for 40-plus million people. The guys knew it and they delivered."

United States president Donald Trump reiterated his desire Thursday for Canada to become the 51st state, posting about it on his Truth Social platform prior to the game.

Fans booed the U.S. anthem during the tournament's spin through Montreal, while the Canadian anthem singer in Boston changed the lyrics in protest of Trump's remarks before the final.

Canada prime minister Justin Trudeau wrote, "You can't take our country - and you can’t take our game" in a statement on X shortly after the Canadians claimed the 4 Nations Face-Off trophy.

"I think there were a lot of questions going into (the tournament)," Canadian captain Sidney Crosby said when asked about Trudeau's post. "What was it going to feel like? Was it going to be an All-Star Game? What was the level going to be like as far as how were players viewing it? I think that got answered pretty quickly on the first night against Sweden.

"I think you saw the passion. It just continued to build and build. You saw the attention and how much it meant to people. Obviously in Canada, we have a lot of pride in being Canadian but also for hockey as well. I think our group felt that. It meant a lot that we could find a way to pull it out tonight."

Jordan Binnington spent the tournament dealing with his fair share of naysayers, who zeroed in on Canada's crease as its biggest weakness. But he walked away feeling proud of how he and his team navigated the outside noise.

"As an athlete and competitor, there's always gonna be that doubt," Binnington said. "You've got to use that as motivation and find a way and believe in yourself to get the job done. Just being around these guys the last two weeks, I feel like it's elevated everyone's game.

"Just how proud we are to be Canadian hockey players, just finding a way to win with everything going on, just stay with it is all I'll say."