It was exactly the start Canada wanted over Sweden Wednesday night.
With an early man advantage less than a minute into the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off, Connor McDavid found Sidney Crosby who found Nathan MacKinnon who capped off a magical passing play a decade in the making.
The goal as quickly as it came — coupled with a patriotic introduction on Sportsnet to The Tragically Hip’s classic tune Courage (for Hugh MacLennan) — seemed to quell anyone’s grumbles about the tournament as a whole.
Canada’s early success would be parlayed to a 2-0 lead with seven minutes left in the first, when Brad Marchand cashed in a two-on-one between him and Brayden Point. There would be more fireworks through the second period, with Jonas Brodin making it 2-1 partway through the frame, and Mark Stone re-gaining a two-goal lead later.
But the game started to stall for the Canadian side, as Sweden pushed in the second and third period, outshooting the host country in both periods. It wasn’t just that they outshot Canada, they outscored them, too.
Adrian Kempe and Joel Eriksson Ek would both score in the third period, eliminating Canada’s lead and forcing the game into overtime. Tournament rules in the round-robin stage sees overtime’s usual five minutes doubled, and both teams needed it.
MacKinnon had chance over chance unable to score, but couldn’t find a way to beat Filip Gustavsson. And while Sweden appeared to be on the brink of ending the game multiple times on their own, but it was none other than Mitch Marner who would ice it.

Backhanders…

  • McDavid was as electric as one could’ve hoped, looking like he was in prime playoff form throughout the game. He used his speed all night long to generate chances, finishing the night with an assist, a shot on goal and a blocked shot. His 21 minutes and 26 seconds of ice-time were fifth on the team, and first among forwards.
  • Mattias Ekholm was strong for the Swede’s, helping weather the Canadian storm playing 19 minutes and 30 seconds and helping set up Kempe’s third period goal. Viktor Arvidsson, meanwhile, was quiet, taking a shot on goal and playing just 10:08, the second-fewest of any Swedish player.
  • Crosby led the charge for Team Canada in a big way, assisting on three of four goals, including the game-winner to set up Marner. Safe to say he was fired up for this tournament.
  • Canadian defenceman Shea Theodore left the game in the first period and didn’t return after being hit hard into the boards. He appeared to jam his wrist into the boards and was in pain on the bench before he skated to the locker room amid a stoppage in play.

Highlights

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach@thenationnetwork.com.

ARTICLE PRESENTED BY bet365