The most awaited and one of the most watched games in NHL history came to an end after Team Canada defeated Team USA in overtime. Many highly anticipated the USA having the upper hand in this game since they had crushed the Canadian team on Saturday. But it didn’t happen. Things have gone perfectly for Team Canada. Meanwhile, the whole world appreciates the love of ice hockey these players have. And NFL legend JJ Watt is no exception to this.

NFL legend JJ Watt has praised the NHL players for their dedication and hard work. “Not sure how they expect these guys to go play regular season NHL games on Saturday after this. Much, much respect for how much effort, energy, and passion they’ve poured into this tournament.” “That’s what’s made it so special.” No arguments there. Despite such a tight schedule and cross-country travel, players on every team made sure that fans got the taste of a real NHL-flavored best-on-best tournament.

Watt lastly said in his tweet, “The best in the world going all-out for pure pride.” A few hours back, the former defensive tackle posted a heartfelt experience about the final game of the 4-nations face-off. 

“Friends who never watched a hockey game in their lives reaching out asking what the plan is for tonight’s game, what food we’re ordering, etc.” JJ Watt posted on X/Twitter on February 20. And it was actually the case in the NFL world also. The former FOX Sports reporter, Erin Andrews, also posted a story on Instagram after the biggest NHL matchup, “We were screaming like it was the Stanley Cup and Go USA.” But the Canadians flipped the game in the overtime.

Though every American wanted their team to win, Team Canada prevailed over the US team with a narrow 3-2 OT victory. But you know, who actually won the game? 

It’s not surprising that JJ Watt is impressed 

You might be surprised to learn that more than 10 million people worldwide watched the previous game (Saturday) between the USA and Canada! The number may look thin to NFL or soccer audiences but this is a huge success for hockey. The Empire State Building was shining like a star as a tribute to the 4 Nations Face-Off finale. “Shining in red, white, and blue tonight in support of USA Hockey in the Four Nations Championship,” Empire State Building posted on Instagram. The environment for the game was like never before. 

Talking about future international competitions, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, has stated, “We have the most internationally diverse player pool of any major [U.S.] sport, and our players from an early age have represented their countries and take great pride in representing their countries.” He has also added, “So we’ve made arrangements to go back to the Olympics, and then we agreed that two years after that we’ll do a full World Cup, not just four teams. Then after that, back to the Olympics and then the World Cup, and so on. So every two years at least we’ll have an international competition.” The game has become so big that we should not be surprised if we see any superstar born on the ice a decade from now. 

And to conclude the greatness of the game for now, P.K. Subban has said, “People are saying that this game is bigger than the Stanley Cup game last year and any Stanley Cup game that we’re going to see this year.” It’s more than great to hear this from a person who himself has won an Olympic gold. But let’s see how many more strategic changes like a 4-nations face-off come into the game in the future.