Team Canada secured a thrilling 3-2 victory against Finland in the men’s hockey semifinal on Friday in Milan, setting up a gold medal showdown against the United States on Sunday. Nathan MacKinnon emerged as the decisive figure, delivering the winning goal with just 36 seconds remaining, cementing his place as a Nathan MacKinnon Olympic hero and keeping Canada’s gold hopes alive despite Sidney Crosby’s absence.
Connor McDavid captained the team in Crosby’s place, who was sidelined by injury. Canada fought back from an early 2-0 deficit to overcome the Finns, showcasing perseverance and depth in a tense, closely contested match.
McDavid Steps Into Leadership Role Amid Pressure
With regular captain Sidney Crosby injured during the quarterfinal, the Canadian coaching staff appointed Connor McDavid as captain for the semifinal. McDavid, embracing the responsibility, guided Canada through one of their toughest challenges at the Games.
“We’re putting our country through it,”
McDavid said after the nerve-racking finish.
“It’s been fun … We’re playing the best teams in the world, the best players in the world, and we’re going at it. They’re giving everything they have. The margins are razor thin.”
Even without Crosby on the ice, his influence remained, as he provided tactical insights and motivated teammates during intermissions. McDavid praised Crosby’s presence off the rink:
“He’s obviously got a great hockey mind. He’s watching the game closely and trying to dissect what they’re doing and giving us little pointers here and there, what we can look for. He was definitely there and having those conversations.”
Head coach Jon Cooper expressed hope for Crosby’s return in time for the final, stating,
“He’s got a lot better chance of playing in the gold-medal game than he did today.”
Bennett’s Role Highlights Canada’s Depth
Replacing Crosby in the lineup, Sam Bennett proved an important contributor alongside veterans Brad Marchand and Tom Wilson, effectively pressuring the Finnish defense. Marchand expressed the synergy on their line, saying,
“We’ve been excited to play together. We’ve played against each other a lot over the years … it’s nice not having to worry about those two guys taking my head off.”
Despite an early penalty that led to Finland’s opening power-play goal, Bennett maintained a positive mindset:
“My mindset was just to regroup, just go out there and go help my team win however I could.”
His team continued grinding through adversity as Eric Haula extended Finland’s lead with a short-handed goal early in the second period.
Canada’s persistent pressure eventually paid off late in the second period when Sam Reinhart deflected a Cale Makar shot on a power play to get them on the scoreboard. In the third period, Shea Theodore’s slapshot tied the game, aided by a physical play from Marchand involving Finnish goalie Juuse Saros — a play that the Finns chose not to challenge as goalie interference.
Bennett stressed the importance of resilience:
“You get down early and you’ve just got to keep battling through. You can’t change your game. You almost got to push harder, and I think our team did an unbelievable job at just showing relentless pressure. We never quit, we never turned, we never got away from our game. We just kept shift after shift, line after line, grinding them down. That’s how we’ve got to play.”
MacKinnon’s Game-Winning Highlight
Nathan MacKinnon’s late power-play goal proved to be the game-winner and a dramatic climax to Canada’s comeback. His one-timer off a McDavid pass came moments after being high-sticked by Niko Mikkola, scoring with two seconds remaining on the clock to seize a 3-2 lead that the Canadians held until the final buzzer.
Commenting on MacKinnon’s clutch performance, Brad Marchand observed,
“That’s what he does. He’s one of the most intense people I’ve ever met, driven. His dedication to the game and to getting better and to being the best, it really is impressive. You have to be able to see it to really understand how dialed in he is.”
The goal underwent an offside challenge by Finland, but video review confirmed MacKinnon’s teammate Macklin Celebrini’s skate was onside by a razor-thin margin. In the final seconds, Finland mounted a last attack, but Jordan Binnington stopped the shot, and Bennett’s winning faceoff helped close out the game.
McDavid looked ahead with resolve:
“Enjoy this one here and get ready for Sunday. It’s kind of a quick turnaround, but we’ll be ready to roll.”
Canada’s Historic Olympic Pursuit and Records
Canada’s resilient comeback marks them as the first team with NHL players to overcome deficits in both the quarterfinals and semifinals en route to an Olympic final. McDavid’s performance also solidified his personal Olympic record; his two assists in the semifinal brought his tournament total to 13 points, the highest ever recorded at a single Olympics featuring NHL participation.
This Olympic appearance is the sixth featuring full NHL involvement, with Canada having won three previous gold medals, including the most recent in 2014. However, the team also experienced disappointments, finishing empty-handed in 1998 and 2006, adding weight to Canada’s current quest for hockey supremacy.
MACKINNON GIVES CANADA THE 3-2 LEAD WITH 30 SECONDS LEFT 🚨🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/8RTJnoAATP
— CBC Olympics (@CBCOlympics) February 20, 2026
