Team USA, Canada Both Need OT to Avoid Stunning Upsets
Team USA and Canada are the favorites to meet in the gold medal match of Olympic ice hockey. They both nearly lost on Wednesday. In the first round following group play, in which both countries went unbeaten and secured the top two seeds, each team was moments from a disastrous exit.
Team USA survives Sweden
Team USA was leading Sweden by a single goal in the third period. Dylan Larkin's score was the lone goal in the entire game until there were just 91 seconds remaining. In stunning fashion, the Swedes slotted home a tying goal off the stick of New York Rangers star Mika Zibanejad.
The Americans are a team full of NHL veterans, but so are the Swedes. The most seasoned players began to sweat a little bit after Zibanejad's stunning goal past Connor Hellebuyck, who has been sensational in tournament play.
"That's as nervous as I've been ever in a hockey game," Larkin said via ESPN. Had it not been for his second-period goal, that stunner from Zibanejad might've sealed USA's fate and sent them home early in shocking fashion.
Quinn Hughes would eventually send a screamer past Jacob Markstrom a few minutes into overtime. That lifted the Americans to the next round and avoided a major disappointment. Hughes did not play in the 4 Nations Face-Off last year. Hughes said he felt "relief" after scoring.
Next up is Slovakia. "It's gonna be an extremely hard test," Hughes said of the next matchup. "They've been rolling. They're competitive. They're fast. Doesn't matter how many superstars you have, just the desperation level's so high. It's Game 7 every night now."
The Americans have the experience and the skill, but this is the Olympics. That doesn't always matter, and with a scare against Sweden, anything is possible against Slovakia, and whoever they might meet in the gold medal round later, should they survive.
Canada comes back against Czechia
Team Canada survived its own overtime thriller, and while the Americans might've felt scared they were going to lose, it genuinely looked like Canada was about to be upset. They trailed plenty, and they had to force overtime and then win it themselves.
Similar to Team USA, the veterans began to get antsy late in the contest. "I never had a doubt, but it was getting a little nerve-wracking," defenseman Drew Doughty said via ESPN. Captain Sidney Crosby had already left with an injury.
Nick Suzuki tied it with a few minutes left in the third period, so it wasn't quite as dramatic as Sweden's tying goal. Still, Canada is the top seed, so being in that position, even with three minutes to go, was unexpected.
Just a minute into the extra period, though, Mitch Marner slotted home the winner. The Vegas Golden Knights star spent the first eight years of his NHL career starring for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and he finally delivered for Canadian fans.
"Everybody had complete faith in whoever was going over the boards," coach Jon Cooper said. "It just felt it was like a matter of time. It was going to happen."
As for the winning goal, Cooper went on to say, "It's the 'it' factor, man: Mitch Marner's got it. He doesn't disappoint. Sometimes your hair falls out at times, but in the end, he never disappoints."
Canadian goalkeeping has been the subject of controversy for a few years now, with Jordan Binnington holding a loose grip on the starting job but sometimes not inspiring confidence. He rewarded the faith, though, with a crucial save against David Pastrnak on the breakaway.
There were just 70 seconds left in the game, so that likely would've been a winner for Czechia. Now, both teams will have one more match before what has felt like an almost inevitable gold-medal faceoff.
