Commentary often elevates a game to unprecedented heights. And Sean McDonough is someone who can do just that. His is a name you can pronounce in the same breaths as legends such as Keith Jackson, Al Michaels, and others. The fact that McDonough became only the fifth person to hold ESPN’s Monday Night Football play-by-play makes him a legend in his own right. However, the ESPN sportscaster once again proved why he is considered among the best on Thursday.

After calling his first hockey game since last year’s Stanley Cup (Game 7), ESPN’s lead play-by-play caster returned for round two of Canada vs. USA on Thursday. Ahead of his first showing on February 15, ESPN explained that McDonough was dealing with the flu and wanted to conserve his voice for the big match. Four days later, he showed up once again when it mattered the most.

Sean McDonough joined Thursday’s final as the commentator, beating his illness and adding yet another feather to his cap. That’s because the 4 Nations Face-Off final set rating records for ESPN. Besides the match being one of the most-watched hockey matches the 62-year-old commentated on, the 3-2 thriller garnered the largest audience for a hockey game on ESPN, period.

With an average of nearly 9.3 million people tuning in, ESPN revealed that the broadcast peaked at 10.7 concurrent viewers. In fact, the network admitted that excluding regular pro and college football coverage, the 4 Nations Face-Off final viewership came in second only to last year’s NBA finals. So despite battling the flu, it’s safe to say that McDonough has already set the bar high for himself in 2025.

McDonough’s record speaks for itself, seeing that he’s lent his voice to some of the most iconic sporting events in American sport. But unfortunately, Sean McDonough’s tussle with his illness may not have come to an end yet. That’s because this isn’t the first time illness has cost the ESPN commentator. As per Awful Announcing and the New York Post, the veteran sportscaster has missed quite a few dates since last year because of health concerns. In fact, McDonough was having a tough time for a while before the historic final.

Sean McDonough has struggled to get into his stride

Awful Announcing revealed that the MNF sportscaster missed multiple commentating duties in 2025. Two hockey games were among them – Braylon Breeze noted that McDonough missed two ABC hockey games just before the 4 Nations Face-Off kicked off, so it really was a fight for McDonough to remain healthy in time for the tournament. Mike Monaco replaced the veteran commentator but hinted at McDonough’s illness. He said that McDonough was feeling “under the weather,” as per Breeze.

However, despite his best efforts, he couldn’t make it for the USA vs. Finland game at the 4 Nations Face-Off, though he was originally slated to. “After the conclusion of Finland-Sweden, Bob Wischusen confirmed on the ABC broadcast that Sean McDonough will be on the call for USA-Canada (February 15),” Braylon Breeze posted hours just ahead of this year’s first USA-Canada clash.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new for McDonough. The sportscaster has been dealing with bouts of illness since the 2024 playoffs. As per the New York Post, ESPN has also cited “illness” as the reason for McDonough’s absence during the NHL Eastern Conference Final on May 24, 2024.

So despite being part of history immediately after returning to hockey commentating duties, the concerns surrounding McDonough’s health still remain. But one thing’s for certain, and that’s all hockey fans must fervently be hoping that Sean McDonough can finally turn a corner and bring his iconic voice back to the game more regularly.