Canada beat the USA in the record-breaking 4 Nations Face-Off championship game with Toronto Maple Leafs teammates Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews squaring off against each other on international ground.

Maple Leafs and Team USA captain Auston Matthews admitted that the sting of the loss to Team Canada is still lingering with him.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews stood silently after the 4 Nations Face-Off concluded. Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid won gold for Canada

As the NHL season resumed on Saturday, it was merely two days since the United States fell to Canada 3-2 in overtime of the 4 Nations Face-Off championship.

Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews met with Toronto media on Saturday and reflected on the emotional loss to Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday.

“They get paid the big bucks, but at the end of the day, they grind it, too,” Leafs forward Steven Lorentz, who made a terrific play to set up David Kampf’s 3-0 goal, said of Matthews and Marner. “They’re obviously very skilled and they can put the puck in the net, but when the minutes get up there with them, you don’t really see it a whole lot.

Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube had a bit of a chuckle on Thursday when he was asked whether he would consider giving captain Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner a rest for Toronto’s first game, on Saturday at home against the Carolina Hurricanes, following the 4 Nations Face-Off.

NHL analyst Mike Johnson shared his thoughts on Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander at the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament.

Auston Matthews scored his 389th NHL goal to move into a tie for second place in Toronto Maple Leafs history in a 6-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday. The Toronto captain scored into an empty net at 18:37 of the third period to tie Darryl Sittler behind only Mats Sundin (420 goals) in Maple Leafs history.