For 68 minutes, Team USA kept the best player in the NHL under wraps. Even by his own admission, Connor McDavid was not having a great game as the American defense locked him down and gave him zero operating space with the puck. Unfortunately for American hockey, all McDavid needs is one shot, and after an overtime coverage breakdown by Team USA, McDavid was alone in the slot, and he snapped the game-winner past Connor Hellebuyck to give the Canadians a 3-2 win in overtime.
It was a fitting game to conclude a tournament that had many detractors before the first puck was dropped. With all of the players buying into the extravaganza and competing at their best, it provided all of the excitement the NHL could hope for. For a generation of players that haven’t been able to participate on a best-on-best international level as professionals, there was a lot of emotional investment by everyone involved. Sprinkle in a little political intrigue and a fired-up Boston crowd, and it was an electric setting.
As has been the case almost all tournament, Canada scored first. Tournament MVP Nathan MacKinnon had the puck on his stick and lasered a puck past Hellebuyck less than five minutes into the game. While Canada had the stronger play early in the game, but Team USA wasn’t going to fold, and it was the new Captain America, Brady Tkachuk, that equalized the game with under five minutes to go in period as he crashed the net as Auston Matthews’ attempted wraparound slipped into the crease. Tkachuk was there to deflect the bouncing puck past Jordan Binnington.
The two teams traded goals in the second period with Jake Sanderson, inserted into the line-up due to Charlie McAvoy’s injury, fired home a rebound from the slot. The two teams went after it looking to score the always important third goal of the game, and it was Canada who created the opportunity. A turnover in the neutral zone led to Mitch Marner carrying the puck into the zone. He slid a deft little pass to Sam Bennett, who saw a little daylight top shelf on the short side and didn’t miss his target.
That would be it for regulation scoring as both teams locked down on defense. Despite the amount of talent on the ice, and the speed at which the game was being played, there wasn’t a lot of open space on the ice for either team. There was just one power play in the entire game, which went to Canada, but they couldn’t capitalize on the advantage.
In overtime, it was Team USA that had the early pressure, with several in-close opportunities that had Binnington swimming around like, as The DannyPrattTragedy put it in our comments last night, “an out-of-control [Dominik] Hasek.” One shot even glanced off the iron.
Team Canada basically had one shot, and they didn’t miss. Following an icing by the Americans (and a potential missed too-many-men on the ice by Canada), McDavid won the face-off. A quick shot went wide, but they were able to keep the puck in the zone and worked the puck around the end-boards to Mitch Marner. Three USA players converged on him, but the Leafs’ forward was able to slip the pass to McDavid in the slot and he fired the puck past Hellebuyck for the win.
It was a great ending to a tournament that over-delivered on expectations, and whet the appetite for the Olympics in less than a year.
