What if?
What if Nathan MacKinnon pauses for a beat on the backdoor, and puts home a shot that he finishes 90 per cent of the time in the NHL?
What if Devon Toews gets less stick on his shot from the crease — the one taken one foot from the goal line and behind Connor Hellebuyck. Maybe it slides under that paddle?
What if Connor McDavid scores on his breakaway, or Macklin Celebrini on his, or Sidney Crosby plays, or, or, or.
What if, what if, what if.
Alas, in the reality we live in here, those things didn’t happen, and the Americans hung on, got it to overtime and converted on a broken play.
It was a game the Canadians dominated, and “deserved,” but the what ifs didn’t fall their way.
Ten thoughts on a great hockey game, coming up:
1. Canada’s missed chances
Pressure is a very real and impactful force in sports, isn’t it? When you’re desperate, and the opposing D has been closing fast on every opportunity, of course the tendency is to rush what feels like a clean look.
For MacKinnon, it’s just that soul-crushing want that he plays with. He wants it so bad, that when got a pass on the backdoor with net to shoot at, he got a little quick on the release.
For McDavid’s uncommonly inartful breakaway attempt, or Celebrini missing his spot on his, or a half-dozen other moments, it just felt like the Canadians rushed the chances they did get, which just about never happens in the NHL with these guys.
Even in the playoffs, they know they’ve got a best-of-seven series for things to settle down, so moments rarely feel so desperate. But the stakes were real, and they seemed to have an effect.
2. The redemption of Connor Hellebuyck
It’s probably crazy to have come this far without mentioning the Americans’ goaltender, who was their MVP, their all-star, their saviour, their capital-G Guy. He stopped 41 of 42 shots overall, 22 of 23 from the slot, and was just outstanding. He looked huge, held rebounds and battled in scrambles. He even got an assist on the OT winner.
For a guy who was slowly accruing a reputation as someone who “couldn’t get it done” with the pressure on (Jets playoffs or 4 Nations Face-Off), his numbers in those moments were actually stellar, posting a .925 over three elimination games.
Well, they’re even better now.
He kept this thing close enough for the U.S. to hang around and find one late. Impressive showing.
3. Jack Hughes’ rollercoaster
In the final 10 minutes of the game, Jack Hughes:
*Ate a high stick from Sam Bennett, lost teeth and could’ve been the American hero as he ended up right back out there on the four-minute power play.
*Gave a high stick putting Canada on a late power play, and could’ve been the goat (not the good kind).
*Scored the OT winner, and will now be referred to by some as the GOAT (all caps is the good kind).
Outside that flurry of chaos I didn’t think he had been overly impactful, as he only played about 13 minutes, but he found himself in the thick of things. And for his efforts, he earned this awesome picture:
4. Canada carried the play
Tough not to leave that game feeling if this were a best-of-seven series — and lord I wish it were — the Canadians would come out on top. It just felt like their top dogs were pushing, asking questions of the D, and it was just one of those games where it didn’t go for them.
McDavid, MacKinnon and Celebrini combined for 14 shots, Devon Toews and Makar another eight, and I just don’t think those five put up 22 shots and only score once very often.
5. Auston Matthews and some American flowers
Among the guys who it’s said “you can’t win with” is Auston Matthews. But as noted by Kevin Papetti here, he put together three points in the past two U.S.-Canada finals (including 4 Nations), and his line played as much or more than any forward not named Jack Eichel at the Olympics. His defensive efforts in the first period alone were impactful, and for that matter, all of the Americans were sharp on that side of the puck early.
The more big moments guys like Matthews find success in, the better they’ll be in the future.
But the most flower-worthy moment of the whole game was the Americans bringing out Johnny Gaudreau’s jersey, and including his kids in the team picture. Seeing his mom and dad in those moments was devastating. Special, meaningful, so sad, so sweet. It’s all just too much.
Big picture on the U.S.: it battled hard and had talent for days. Don’t love that Canada has to deal with that D-corps for the next eight years or so.
6) Canada’s 5-on-3 was a mess of self-sabotage
I didn’t think MacKinnon had his finest game. He was a little hesitant on the 3-on-3 defensive effort and we know about the missed net, but maybe the most egregious play was on the 5-on-3.
It’s the second period and Canadians still haven’t scored. Their power play at 5-on-4 has been borderline unstoppable at the Games. They get the puck with well over a minute in the offensive zone, and as soon as they start to set up and Makar makes the very first pass to him — before guys are even really in their spots yet — he absolutely heats up a one-timer but misses the net entirely, which wraps it around the boards and out of the zone. Now they’ve gotta get set up again, and they’re eating up the clock.
You’ve got two extra guys out there — the best in the world — and you’ve gotta look for a quality scoring chance, not just some unscreened one-T from distance. Yuck.
7) Three-on-three overtime at the Olympics was an abomination
I said this from the beginning of the Olympics until the final moment. Even if Canada scored the winner in three-on-three OT to win gold, I’d still call it a travesty. We’re trying to figure out who’s the best hockey team. Why on god’s green earth would anyone involved in structuring this event agree to a format that is an entirely different sport than hockey? Hey that four-man bobsleigh event was a thrilling tie, let’s do two-man bobsleigh to determine the winner.
It’s not the same thing!
Three-on-three is possession, and regroups, and face-off-get-off for some centres. It’s just not how hockey teams are built to play.
Does it take anything away from the U.S. winning gold? No, I’m not going to do that. But it stunk from the jump, and it needs to be fixed for 2030.
8) Jordan Binnington was excellent
You are free to quibble about the two goals the U.S. scored, but they weren’t terrible, and if you’re gonna quibble, you also better heap praise on Binnington for the glove save he made in overtime and a half-dozen other high quality stops.
He did more than enough for Canada to win gold, played to his reputation, and can hold his head up high.
Now, if in two years at the World Cup we’re still relying on him — the guy who’s been arguably the NHL’s worst goalie this season — based purely on his “vibes,” we’re in real trouble. But he did what he was picked to do this time around, and he should be proud.
9) When you lose, people question the roster
One thing about high-stakes international competition: nobody cheats for offence in these games, or not nearly as much anyway. That means the risk of having offence-first guys is pretty low, which is to say as Canada is trying to find one more goal, I would’ve liked to have seen Connor Bedard come over the boards. I’d have been thrilled to see Matthew Schaefer create one more look, or Evan Bouchard. Mark Scheifele is pretty good at getting pucks into the net.
As we look towards the next international competition in two years, it’s reasonable to tweak our scales toward taking more offence, and trusting Jon Cooper to get them to defend, too.
Still, the Canadian D did the thing it set out to do — it kept the U.S. off the board, kept their total down. The defencemen just needed one more from the forwards.
OK, Americans, look over there, fireworks! (Psst, Canadians, this one is just for you, quick while they’re not looking.)
10) …Sid makes that one more play for Canada somewhere in that game, right?
It’s Sid. Of course he does.
I don’t know how hurt the Canadian captain was, but he wanted to do the right thing and not play if he felt they could dress a healthy player who could do more. It was the unselfish (and ultimately Canadian) thing to do, but Cooper barely used Sam Reinhart anyway, and so now I kinda wish they’d just gone for it.
In the 4 Nations you could only dress 12 forwards, and there, I think not playing would’ve 100 per cent been the right call. In the Olympics, where you can dress 13 (also a dumb rule that should be changed), I’d have been fine with him on the bench, getting a few shifts in a few spots. He’s Sidney Crosby, man, surely on one leg he’d have had his Kirk Gibson moment… right?
11) Closing note
In the end, congratulations to the U.S. team. If you really love hockey here in Canada — and since you’re reading this, I know you do — it’s not a bad thing for the game to be important south of the border, and this only helps that.
If this is going to be a real rivalry now (and it is, and has been for a bit), Canada is gonna be OK. Some pre-game perspective here from Thomas Drance, which I liked:
Hope everyone had fun, it’s a heartbreaker, but hey: international hockey is back, and we’ll get to do it all again in two years’ time. Let the roster mock-ups begin.