Sidney Crosby dropped a pass back to Match Marner in overtime and the Toronto forward rocketed into the offensive zone before ripping a shot past Filip Gustavsson to send the 21,000+ fans home happy as Team Canada defeated Team Sweden 4-3 in the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Crosby, who has a 26-game winning streak while wearing the Maple Leaf on his sweater, paced the way with three assists while Jordan Binnington stopped 23 of 26 shots for the win. Nathan MacKinnon and Brad Marchand built a two-goal lead for Canada before Jonas Brodin sliced the lead in half. Mark Stone re-established the two-goal lead, but third period goals by Adrian Kempe and Joel Eriksson Ek tied the game for Sweden to get them to overtime.
Brayden Point (14:18 Time On Ice) had an assist while Brandon Hagel (15:24) and Anthony Cirelli (12:22) were held off the score sheet. For Team Sweden Victor Hedman skated a team-high 27:15 and assisted on Brodin’s goal.
For the overtime victory, Team Canada earned two points while Team Sweden is awarded one point for the overtime loss.
Shea Theodore was injured on a hit along the boards and will not participate in the rest of the tournament for Team Canada.
Play continues tonight as Jake Guentzel and Team USA take on Team Finland. The puck drops at 8:00 PM and will be on ESPN and ESPN+.
