What an unbelievable stretch of hockey it’s been this past week. Nobody’s talking about the size of the rink or any of the lackluster accommodations in Milan anymore!
In fact, everyone was so caught up in the drama to notice that Czechia had too many men on the ice for Palat’s goal to put them ahead of Canada 3-2, late in the third period of the quarterfinal. How insane is that? The Canadian coaching staff, the credentialed media, the fans, even the players reportedly had no idea! It’s funny, you can see 8 guys celebrating the goal, but it’s just assumed they hopped off the bench to join. 32 Thoughts: The Podcast made a very astute observation to compare it to that cognitive bias dancing gorilla video, where most people somehow fail to notice what should be the most obvious thing in the picture.
I totally thought Canada was dead in the water at that point, and already wrapping my head around Sidney Crosby’s last Olympics, stains on the careers of McDavid, MacKinnon & company, what Team USA must be thinking. In a miraculous display of skill, Nick Suzuki tipped a puck in front for the equalizer and then Mitch Marner delivered a heroic individual effort to win it in OT.
Leafs fans don’t want to hear it, but Marner is compiling quite the portfolio of coming through in clutch moments. Extremely fitting for Canada to prevail as well, given the advantage hiding in plain sight that the Slovaks had. I can’t even imagine the repercussions and anger from Canada if they were eliminated on a goal that should’ve been called back.
I was definitely hoping Canada would get a scare but didn’t expect Czechia to be a 3 on 3 goal away from victory. The parity’s been jarring, can’t say it’s something I really expected. It had me on edge for the Sweden/USA game taking place later that day. The Swedes have more NHL talent and pedigree than the Czechs and it suddenly became a reality that USA wouldn’t be cruising into the next round.
The game was very low event early. I felt Jack Eichel’s line with the Tkachuks were super responsible defensively and played really efficiently with and without the puck. The Swedes looked lightning-fast right off the opening faceoff, and I was worried guys staying out there too long on a line change and getting caught in transition. All four lines were up to the task of suffocating hockey. Eichel in particular, what did Paul Bissonette call him that one time, a velicoraptor? The way he sort of just glides out there with his head up and hips driving his skating is unlike anyone else in the game.
The Americans scored first on a huge goal from Dylan Larkin, who’s proving his worth time and time again at the international level. Team USA then backchecked aggressively for the majority of the game, shutting down chance after chance. I don’t remember Hellebuyck facing much of a challenge. Eventually, Mika Zibanejad converted on his signature heat sinking missile of a slapshot from outside the slot to tie the game with 1:31 remaining in the 3rd period. Rangers fans have seen this countless times.
The semifinals on Friday delivered exactly what you’d expect from knockout Olympic hockey. Canada defeated Finland 3-2, in a game that once again scared all of Canada. Canada charged from behind yet again, to finally take the lead late in the 3rd period thanks to a Nathan MacKinnon power-play goal. Reports have been coming out Jon Cooper has been an inspiration behind the bench and keeping everyone upbeat, despite all the adversity and losing their captain Sidney Crosby.
USA manhandled Slovakia with a relentless explosion of offense and physicality. It was kind of funny watching the Tkachuk brothers decide to pester Juraj Slafkovsky the whole game. It felt like the game against Sweden lacked some of those extracurriculars and the Americans are way better when they’re emotionally invested in the game within the game. You could totally see the Tkachuks yapping at whoever Slovakian players were on the ice for Eichel’s goal.
So curious how the agitation underneath the surface manifests itself against Canada. The Four Nations brawl was one thing – this is a completely different playing ground with much higher stakes. There’s no fighting at the Olympics, you can’t be taking penalties, but you also can’t be backing down from physicality.
This feels like the type of game people are going to be still talking about in 50 years. I cannot wait. It’s exactly what everyone penciled in two weeks ago and fittingly one of the last events before the closing ceremony at these 2026 Olympics at Milan Cortina!
Since these types of games always go to extra time, I’ll say Auston Matthews shows up in a big way and scores in OT to win it for Team USA.
geryblogs 
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