Canada Hockey: MacKinnon's Last-Second Goal Sends Team to Olympic Gold Game
Nathan MacKinnon's late goal lifted Team Canada to a 3-2 semifinal win over Finland and sent the nation — and canada hockey fans in his Nova Scotia hometown — into a frenzy, advancing Canada to the Olympic men’s hockey gold-medal game on Sunday at 8: 10 a. m. ET. The score came in the final minute and completed a comeback after Finland led 2-0 early.
Canada Hockey heads to gold
MacKinnon finished a sequence with a one-timer on a pass from Connor McDavid, beating Juuse Saros with roughly 35 seconds remaining to break a 2-2 tie and make it 3-2. The goal capped a semifinal in which Finland had opened the scoring and added a short-handed goal to take a 2-0 lead before Canada chipped away; Sam Reinhart cut the deficit to 2-1 later in the second period.
Power-play work paid off
The decisive sequence traced back to extensive work on the power-play unit that included McDavid, MacKinnon and others. The play began with MacKinnon winning a battle on the half wall and keeping the puck alive, creating the eventual seam for McDavid’s pass and MacKinnon’s finish. McDavid added multiple points in the tournament, reaching new individual totals for Olympic scoring during the event. The team’s structured preparation and in-game adjustments were credited with creating the opening that produced the late winner.
Crosby status and next steps
Sidney Crosby was ruled out of the semifinal after sustaining a lower-body injury in the quarterfinal overtime win; he has not been ruled out for the gold-medal game. In Crosby’s absence, bench roles shifted: a replacement on the primary unit logged a team-high 25: 53 of ice time in the semifinal and registered eight shots. McDavid wore the captain’s mark in Crosby’s absence and indicated hope that the change is temporary. If Crosby is cleared to play, he could rejoin the lineup for Sunday’s final; if not, Canada will rely on the depth that carried it through the semifinal.
Looking ahead, Canada will meet its opponent in the gold-medal game on Sunday at 8: 10 a. m. ET. The match-up will test whether the team’s late-game execution and power-play cohesion can be replicated under the pressure of a title game, and whether Crosby’s availability changes lineups or roles. For now, the win over Finland delivers momentum and places Canada one victory from Olympic gold.
