Those four words were fitting while watching the quarterfinal matchups in men’s Olympic hockey on Wednesday. We saw three consecutive games where a team tied the game in the final three and a half minutes and go to overtime. Canadian fans had elevated heart rates that kept climbing as the minutes ticked away in the third period until Nick Suzuki produced an amazing sequence that ended with him tying the game on a nifty deflection.

A nation exhaled and then celebrated again when Mitch Marner scored the overtime winner and Toronto Maple Leafs fans begrudgingly admitted he can produce in big moments. It was a wild Wednesday, and now we head to the semi-finals with Slovakia battling the USA and Canada facing Finland. Canada and Finland have each reached the semifinals in five of the six Olympics involving NHL players. Canada has the most Gold medals (3) while Finland has the most medals (4).

Finland defeated Canada in the bronze medal game in 1998, won silver in 2006 and bronze in 2010 and 2014. Canada won gold in 2002, 2010 and 2014.

This will be the first semi-final meeting between Canada and Finland and their first head-to-head matchup since the preliminary round in 2014, when Canada won 2-1 in overtime, and Drew Doughty scored both goals. Finland won 2-0 in the prelims in 2006, Canada won 2-1 in the quarterfinals in 2002, and Finland won the bronze 3-2 in 1998. Every game has been close and low scoring, and I expect we will see a similar result today.

Juuse Saros has been outstanding for Finland. He allowed three goals in his first start against Slovakia, but he’s only allowed three goals in the past three games. He enters the game with a 1.49 GAA and .938Sv%. But like any goalie, he has areas that are vulnerable, and I asked Kevin Woodley about areas Canada might look to attack.

“Of course you want plays that force him to move east-west, but those are rare, so the main one I’d look at is taking away his eyes. His numbers on screens are way down. He is not a big goalie. Seeing around bodies forces him to pick sides. You’ve got guys at the top of the ice that can sort of see him getting caught on a short side screen, manipulate his eyes, and force him to move around behind it and find lanes.
Another way is attack low below the bottom of the circles. That’s the one challenge at his size. He mostly plays inside his net on dead angles. He’ll use a traditional reverse, and players today you only need two inches over the shoulder by the side of the head, by the ear, under the crossbar on those dead angles, once a guy drops into reverse. With Saros, you might have three or four inches, so making him think about having to keep that short side seal and push up into that short side seal with a couple early looks from dead angles will open up the opportunity to funnel what we call low slot line plays through the middle of the ice from those low angles.

And I would attack him from deep in the zone. I think that’s where you limit his size. Move behind the net and look for passes out from behind the net. He is at his best when he gets to the top of his crease and holds his edges, so anytime you force a goaltender to sort of look behind them and lose track of what’s in front of them by working from below the goal line, it changes his vision, but it also makes it harder for him to get up to the top of the crease fast enough on a one-timer off a pop pass.
I know it sounds silly to be telling Canada with all the skill that they have that trying to attack from dead angles and below the net and traffic and all that stuff is the way to go, but I think we’ve seen it in best on best before. It’s not always the pretty that wins these things, and you’ve got to have a Plan B. And if I was building a Plan B, it would start with those areas of attack on Saros.”

Meanwhile, Jordan Binnington continues to make timely saves.

“The second goal against France was only the second low percentage goal Binnington has given up since early December,” said Woodley. “The one thing he’s done very well with the Blues is not allow the low percentage goals. I don’t think the goals v. Czechia were weak.”

Binnington has proven, once again, he will make key stops at big moments of the game and Canada will need that again vs. Finland.

Finland is a tough out in the Olympics, and every team gets up to play Canada as they are always the favourite and knocking them off is a massive achievement. I’d love to see a Canadian blowout, but I sense we will see another close game with increased heart rates across our hockey-mad country.

SNAPSHOTS…

— Connor McDavid has tied Teemu Selanne and Mikko Koivu for most points in a tournament (involving NHL players) with 11 and McDavid has two games to set the new mark. That will happen, and depending on the health of Sidney Crosby, McDavid could catch or pass Crosby who owns Canada’s record for most points in Olympics (with NHL players) at 15. Selanne owns the record for most points with 32.

— If Crosby can’t play that is obviously a big loss, but Nick Suzuki came up huge after Crosby left last game and Suzuki entered the Olympic break 12th in NHL scoring with 65 points. He was the fourth highest scoring Canadian in the NHL and he can produce in Crosby’s absence. Canada’s depth will be tested, but they have more than enough skill to offset the injury, if Crosby can’t play.

— I wonder if Jon Cooper considers moving up Bo Horvat. I’ve really liked him in limited minutes. He’s skated very well and he’s been very noticeable for me. I’d consider playing him with Nathan MacKinnon, who has been a little quiet at 5×5 when not playing with McDavid.

— Macklin Celebrini has tied Jarome Iginla for the most goals by a NHL Canadian in one Olympic tournament. His next goal would tie him for most by a Canadian and second most by any player. Pavel Bure holds the record with nine goals in 1998.

LINEUPS…

Canada

Celebrini – McDavid – Wilson
Hagel – MacKinnon – Jarvis
Marner – Suzuki – Stone
Marchand – Horvat – Reinhart
Bennett

Toews – Makar
Morrissey – Parayko
Harley – Doughty

Theodore

Binnington

I don’t have Crosby in the lines due to him leaving last game with an injury, but of course if he can play he’s on the roster. Cooper was very forthcoming about MacKinnon’s availability the day before the quarterfinal when he didn’t practice. He said it was maintenance day and he’d be in for sure. Cooper didn’t say the same about Crosby leading up to this game. That doesn’t mean he won’t play, but the possibility he doesn’t is higher.

Josh Morrissey has been skating and Canada could use him. Travis Sanheim only played 8:52 last game so he seems like the obvious guy to come out. I could see Theodore or Morrissey getting some shifts on the right side.

Finland…

Granlund – Hintz – Rantanen
Lehkonen – Aho – Teravainen
Luostarinen – Lundell – Kakko
Tolvanen – Haula – Armia
Kiviranta

Heiskanen – Lindell
Mikkola – Ristolainen
Maatta – Matinpalo
JokiharjuSaros

The Finns have been winning without relying on one line or player. Mikko Rantanen leads them in points with five while Sebastien Aho leads them with three goals. Canada has 10 different goal scorers so far and Finland has nine. Canada has scored 24 goals in their four games while Finland has 19 in their four. Canada scored 10 against France while Finland had 11 v. Italy. Finland has eight goals when playing Slovakia, Sweden and Switzerland. They are winning with solid defensive play and sound goaltending. Look for them to play a controlled game. They don’t want to run and gun with Canada.