In the final moments of the third period (0:35.2), with Team Canada on the power play (after a Finnish penalty, likely high-sticking), Nathan MacKinnon fired a shot that penetrated the near post and beat Juuse Saros to make it Canada 3, Finland 2. The goal was assisted by Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini.
Finland immediately challenged for offside (a move well before the goal, as they had nothing to lose as time expired). Video review confirmed the goal: there was no offside, so it was a good goal. It was extremely close, but the feeling was that the call was not clear enough to fall over on the ice.
This dagger sent Canada to the gold medal final in a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory after trailing 2-0 early (Rantanen PP, Haula shorthanded) and equalizing through Reinhart (PP) and Theodore (point blast). MacKinnon’s snipe was the biggest goal of his Olympic career. McDavid broke the record for points by an NHL player earlier in the tournament, then added to it, scoring 13 total points so far.
The drama in this game was at an all-time high. It looked like Team Canada might let this slip early, but they kept pushing and eventually crawled back to take the lead in the final moments.
McDavid said after the game: “Helping our country through it. A lot of stressful moments for everyone at home, but you know what, it was fun.”
Head coach Jon Cooper on whether Crosby might play in the gold medal game: “He has a much better chance of playing in the gold medal game than he does today.”
Next: History for McDavid: 12th point breaks Olympic NHL era record
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