For the past few seasons, the Ottawa Senators have been described as an NHL team with a young core that's still learning how to win. To help with the education, GM Steve Staios brought in former Cup winners last summer like wingers David Perron, Nick Cousins, and Michael Amadio.
But after Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson helped lead Team USA on the huge, best-on-best stage of the 4 Nations Face-Off Final on Thursday night, there's now some valuable big game experience within the young core.
For Sens fans, who were split, wanting the best for their two players while also cheering for Canada, they couldn't have drawn up a better result. The two Americans each scored in the final and played extremely well, especially Tkachuk who confirmed every fan's belief that he'll be an absolute beast for the Senators when they finally get back to the playoffs.
But in the end, Canada came away with a 3-2 overtime victory and the championship. Goalie Jordan Binnington was the difference, stopping 31 shots and answering every critic. Without Binnington's heroics in the third period and overtime, Connor McDavid wouldn't have had the chance to score the goal that will be remembered forever.
Canada got off to another quick start to this game. Nathan MacKinnon drifted a long wrist shot through a crowd to give Canada a 1-0 lead in the first period. But Tkachuk responded for the Americans in vintage Tkachuk style. He barged though bodies at the net, and chipped a rebound past Binnington.
In the second period, Jake Sanderson, who has just five goals in 55 games for the Sens this season, corralled a loose puck during a scramble in the slot and ripped a low shot past Binnington. Tkachuk didn't get a point on the play, but he was battling like a monster in front of Canada's net.
The American lead didn't hold up long. Just over six minutes later, Canada tied it at 2 when Mitch Marner set Sam Bennett loose with a beautiful feed and Bennett beat Connor Hellebuyck upstairs with an equally beautiful shot.
Thanks to Binnington, the score stayed tied into overtime before McDavid's game winner.
This new tournament turned out to be much more exciting than a lot of fans expected. Sure, we knew it would be better than the all-star game - how it could it not be? But it was crystal clear on day one that the outcome of this event mattered deeply to these players and quickly became a must-watch event for fans.
The finale may have been a disappointment for Tkachuk and Sanderson, but they'll now return home with just a little more swagger and motivation than they left with, eager to get back to big games like these with their Senator teammates.
And that's good for everyone in Ottawa.