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Team Canada Thoughts: McDavid breaking Olympic records, Marner clutch again for Canada, big-game Binnington and more
Team Canada Connor McDavid
Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Sean Panganiban
Feb 19, 2026, 11:00 ESTUpdated: Feb 19, 2026, 11:53 EST
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Team Canada’s 4-3 come-from-behind OT win over Team Czechia was an absolute thriller.
Team Canada fans’ heart rates likely hit all-time highs, while Edmonton Oilers fans were well-prepped for the drama, having seen late-game mayhem like this over the past couple of years, but one thing is for sure: that game was a classic and will be talked about for many years to come.
Team Canada punched their ticket to the semifinals against Team Finland with their huge win, and with that, below we highlight some big Team Canada performances and an area they’ll need to improve for the semis.

McDavid’s nine assists set Olympic record, ties Koivu & Selänne for points

I always like checking the comments online about Connor McDavid after he puts on a show, and after his two-assist effort against Team Czechia, one from Sportsnet’s Justin Bourne immediately stood out: “Connor McDavid is the best to ever put on the skates. Has to be. You just can’t be better at this sport than he currently is, surely, he’s maxed it all out.”
And the reason I highlighted that quote is that, after writing about McDavid for years, I sometimes run out of ways to describe just how amazing a hockey player the Oilers’ captain really is.
Against Team Czechia, he turned on the jets early, setting up his wingman, Macklin Celebrini, just three minutes into the game, and later assisted on Nathan MacKinnon’s power-play goal to tie the game in the second period. While the superstar centerman didn’t score himself, he was dangerous all night, leading the team with seven shots.
Heading into the game against Team Czechia, McDavid had already set a new record for most points through the first three Olympic games by NHL players. By reaching nine points, he also broke the record for most points in a single Olympics by a Canadian NHL player.
That said, McDavid recorded his 11th point (two goals, nine assists) of the tournament, last game. In the process, his nine assists set a new Olympic record, and with his 11th point, he tied Teemu Selänne and Saku Koivu (2006) for the most points in a single Olympics by NHL players. Both of those Finnish stars achieved the feat in eight games — McDavid did it in just four.

A closer look at Nick Suzuki’s signature moment for Team Canada

When Sidney Crosby went down with an injury halfway through the second period last game, Team Canada needed someone to step up, and Nick Suzuki answered the bell.
The Montreal Canadiens’ captain moved back down the middle, playing with Mark Stone and Mitch Marner in stretches after Crosby left the game, and became an instant hero in the eyes of many Canadians who were holding their breath with Team Canada trailing late in the game.
Suzuki, who had missed an open net earlier, totally redeemed himself with an excellent tip to tie the game with just over three minutes remaining.
But I want to especially zero in on his entire shift before the goal, because it truly shows how much Suzuki gave it his all on the play. He was on the ice for just under a minute, forechecking hard in Czechia’s end, and, as the centerman, he went back to handle his defensive duties.
He grabbed a rebound in Team Canada’s zone, likely exhausted from all the back-and-forth. The safe play as he skated through the neutral zone with the puck, while gassed, would have been to dump it, but Suzuki recognized he didn’t have linemates nearby to chase it and giving the puck away would have wasted precious seconds off the clock.
Instead, he dug deep, and with his last bit of energy, he carried the puck into the zone and maintained possession, ultimately setting up the play that led to his game-tying goal. A gutsy effort by the 26-year-old, and surely his signature moment while wearing the red and white of Team Canada and possibly the biggest goal of his life.

Better puck management is needed from Team Canada

Team Canada didn’t make it easy on their fans or themselves against Czechia. Against Finland in the semifinals, better puck management will go a long way toward keeping their supporters’ heart rates down.
On their first goal against, Mark Stone, who has had an excellent Olympics, turned over the puck with a cross-ice pass through the neutral zone. Radko Gudas intercepted it, skated it in, and Lucas Sedlak was credited with the goal after the puck deflected off Thomas Harley’s skate.
On Czechia’s 3-2 goal, Harley’s shot was blocked by Tomas Hertl, who was already sprawled on the ice, with the puck popping out to Martin Nečas, who dropped it to Ondřej Palát, beating Jordan Binnington with 7:43 left in the game, and would’ve been the dagger tally, had it not been for Suzuki’s heroics.
Team Canada tied the game but failed to recognize just how aggressively Czechia was selling out defensively, throwing their bodies in front of every Team Canada shot. With 1:17 left, Devon Toews’ point shot was blocked by Nečas, who broke in alone before Binnington made a game-saving stop to force overtime.
Credit Czechia for two tremendous shot blocks in those moments, but there also needs to be better puck management and awareness of the risk from Team Canada — namely, what happens if a shot gets blocked? The Canadians learned the hard way on those plays and against Finland, better awareness and smarter puck management will be essential, especially with firepower like Sebastian Aho and Mikko Rantanen up front.

Marner is clutch when wearing the red and white Maple Leaf

Team Canada needed an OT hero, and while betting sites likely favoured McDavid, Celebrini or MacKinnon to score the OT winner, it was yet another one of their offensive weapons, Mitch Marner, who delivered, which is a testament to the team’s incredible depth.
In the extra session, Marner skated through two defenders and backhanded the puck perfectly past Lukáš Dostál, who had a fantastic game. The goal sent Team Canada’s bench into celebration, with an entire nation behind them, and punched their ticket to the semifinals.
That said, Marner, who has five points (one goal, four assists) in this year’s Winter Olympics, isn’t a stranger to coming up clutch for Team Canada. Last year at the 4 Nations Face-off, he rose to the occasion twice. In the opening game against Sweden, with the score tied 3-3, Marner emerged as the OT hero, skating in and releasing a rocket of a wrister past Filip Gustavsson in front of a packed crowd at the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Then, in the gold medal game against Team U.S.A. at the 4 Nations Face-off, Marner was placed on a line with McDavid. The duo had been paired together earlier in the tournament but hadn’t found their best chemistry — yet they made magic when it mattered most. Marner found the Oilers’ captain in the slot, McDavid scored, and the rest, as they say, was history. Marner earned what was likely the biggest assist of his career.
Overall, there’s a feeling that Marner, now a Vegas Golden Knight, didn’t rise to the occasion often enough while wearing the blue and white Maple Leaf in Toronto — but put him in the red and white Maple Leaf for Team Canada, and he’s consistently come up clutch over the past year.

Binnington shows once again he’s a big-game goaltender

Raise your hand if you questioned Team Canada’s decision to select Jordan Binnington for the Olympics last December. If your hand’s up, you’re not alone. I’d imagine a lot of hockey fans were thinking the same thing.
Binnington’s NHL stats this season aren’t pretty. His .864 save percentage (SV%) with the St. Louis Blues ranks 80th in the NHL, and his 3.65 goals-against average (GAA) ranks 81st. Based on those numbers, it’s easy to understand why one might question not only his selection to Team Canada but also giving him the starter’s role. Yet the Blues’ netminder is proving that in a best-on-best tournament, he’s defying the stats and showing that numbers don’t always tell the full story.
Binnington, a former Stanley Cup winner and starter for Team Canada’s gold-winning team at last year’s 4 Nations Face-off, has a history of coming through in big moments — and he was at his bona fide best last game against Team Czechia.
Binnington was brilliant for the Canadians down the stretch, but none more so than his clutch stops on Nečas after the Toews giveaway with only 1:17 left in the game.
The Czechia forward went in all alone, and Team Canada’s netminder denied him twice. In that moment, even my subconscious had an energetic reaction to just how clutch he was. Most of the tournament, I’d written down “big save by Binnington,” but for that play, I simply wrote “BINNER!!!” Had that puck gone in, it likely would’ve been all she wrote for Team Canada’s quest for Olympic gold. On top of that, Canada’s netminder came up with another huge save in overtime, just before Marner scored.
Through three games, Binnington has posted a 1.65 GAA and a .922 SV%. Combined with the 0.960 SV% Logan Thompson posted in his one outing, Team Canada sits second in the Olympics in save percentage at .933 SV%, trailing only Finland’s 0.938 SV%. Call it a hunch, but you might want to bet the under in the semifinal game between Canada vs. Finland, responsibly, of course.

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