This 2026 Team Canada men’s hockey Olympic team is proving they’re a resilient bunch. Over the last couple of games, the Canadians have put themselves and their fans through two come-from-behind wins in elimination games, with their most recent being a 3-2 victory over Team Finland.

They now have a date with Team U.S.A. for the winner-take-all Gold Medal Game. Ahead of the showdown, we take a look back at some of the big performances from the last game, memorable moments, and the adjustments Team Canada needs to make.

Not having Sidney Crosby play against Team Finland was a definite blow, but if there was a silver lining, it was seeing Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid also get the chance to captain Team Canada on the grandest international stage of them all. I also think I speak for all Oilers fans when I say it was a proud moment watching him step onto the ice for the first time with the ‘C’ on his chest.

Before heading to the Olympics, the Oilers’ captain alluded in The Players’ Tribune that his legacy means a lot to him, and with the way he’s played in the Winter Olympics, he’s already added another incredible chapter to his career — with the Gold Medal Game still to go.

McDavid recorded another two points last game, giving him two points or more in each of the team’s five games. With his first assist of the night, he set the record for most points (12) in a single Olympic tournament with NHL players, passing Saku Koivu and Teemu Selänne. Then, with his second assist on the game-winning goal, he pushed his point total to 13 through five games.

On another note, February 20 seems to be a special day for the captain. A year ago, on Feb. 20, 2025, McDavid scored the game-winning goal in the 4 Nations Face-off, and a year later, he set an Olympic record and assisted on the game-winning goal to propel his team to the Gold Medal game. Truly incredible work.

Regardless of whether he wears the ‘C’ next game against Team U.S.A, there’s no questioning that all of Oil Country is proud of their captain. He’s been Team Canada’s undisputed leader,  and they’ll need every ounce of energy he has left to help bring the gold back to Canada.

Because McDavid is playing at an unworldly level at the Olympics, Macklin Celebrini’s contributions are getting slightly overshadowed. I say slightly, because he’s still getting tons of recognition, and I can’t be the only one who’s really started to admire him in a way that he’s pushed himself to my favourite player, not on the Oilers.

The 19-year-old has ten points in five games, and two more points would put him alone in second place for most points in a single Olympic tournament with NHL players.

On top of that, it amazes me the critical situations the youngster has been in and excelled in. Last game, for example, whether he was trying to tie the game or score the go-ahead goal late, he played with so much confidence.

On one play in particular late in the game, instead of passing it off to his superstar linemates, he had the gusto to make a deke in-tight and get the puck to MacKinnon, who almost scored on a backhand chance right in front. He was also one of the five players on the power play that produced the game-winning goal, showing excellent work down low and making the slick pass to McDavid, earning an assist. That said, there was no better evidence of how much head coach John Cooper was leaning on the young Canadian than his ice time — he led all Team Canada players with 25:53 minutes and led the team with eight shots on net.

When you look back at past Olympics for Team Canada with NHL players, certain moments stand out, without having to look it up online. In 1998, there was Wayne Gretzky not being selected for the shootout. In 2002, Mario Lemieux let the puck go through his legs so Paul Kariya could score. In 2010, there was the obvious Crosby Golden Goal.

And for this Winter Olympics, Celebrini’s cerebral and spectacular play as a teenager — being one of the team’s go-to offensive weapons at 19 — is really standing out.

Brad Marchand was having a pretty quiet tournament, with just an assist leading up to the game against Finland, but we saw the classic ‘rat’ at his best with just under ten minutes remaining.

Marchand tried a one-on-one move that led to a scoring chance and an offensive faceoff in the third period. Before the puck dropped for the faceoff, when I saw he was paired with Sam Bennett and Tom Wilson, call it an intuitive hunch, but I thought, ‘This is it, they’re scoring here.’

It was a line with a combined 3,501 NHL regular-season penalty minutes and 832 goals — the ultimate ‘pest line,’ if I’ve ever seen one — and they went to work. The Canadians were pressing and needed a greasy goal, and that line was just what the doctor ordered.

They kept it simple. Wilson put the puck on net with bodies in front, and before it eventually reached Shea Theodore, Marchand pulled a move out of his bag of tricks, fell onto Juuse Saros, and then Theodore scored the game-tying goal.

For years, non-fans of Marchand have seen him pull moves like that and respond with rage, but for fans of Team Canada, I think we all thought in unison, “Yup, that’s our guy.”

That trio of Marchand, Bennett, and Wilson received more minutes down the stretch, and if the top line is loaded next game with MacKinnon on the right side, this line — full of controversial pests who can score and throw you off your game — is exactly what’s needed against the Americans. They’ll just have to play within the rule book and avoid unnecessary penalties.

At the 1987 Canada Cup, Team Canada had two of hockey’s greatest on the same line: Wayne Gretzky teamed up with Mario Lemieux and connected for the winning goal. Thirty-nine years later, hockey fans were treated to shades of that.

Two of the best forwards in the game, who also happen to play for Team Canada, McDavid and MacKinnon, connected for their combined signature moment representing the red and white, with the captain setting up MacKinnon — wearing the ‘A’ — for a one-timer that became the eventual game-winner. While it wasn’t a championship-winning goal like 39 years ago, it was still special to see two of the game’s best link up while representing Canada, sending their team to the final game.

When the camera panned to the bench after the play was reviewed for offside and ruled a “good goal,” the Canadian bench celebrated — except for the two superstars. Their faces remained serious, showing it was all business, because the job is still not done. That said, MacKinnon mentioned after the game that playing for gold is “bigger than ourselves. It’s for our country, for this jersey.”

The knock against Team Canada versus Team Czechia in the quarter-final game was their poor puck management. On one goal against, a cross-ice pass in the neutral zone was turned over. Then two Team Canada shots were blocked — one led to a goal against, and the other nearly ended Canada’s tournament when Martin Nečas went in all alone on a breakaway.

Against Team Finland, an undisciplined penalty by Bennett (crashing into Saros) cost them a goal, with Finland scoring on the ensuing power play, and Bennett’s Florida Panthers teammate, Sam Reinhart, gave the puck away on the power play, which led to a shorthanded goal against.

Over the last couple of games, the goals against haven’t come from overly spectacular plays by the opposition; in some instances, it’s been Team Canada shooting themselves in the foot that has led to being scored on.

This Canadian team is full of smart, talented, and experienced players, and hopefully, they’ve learned their lessons leading up to the Gold Medal game. Against Team U.S.A. — who have the most firepower they’ll face in the tournament — they need to manage the puck better and, as Team Canada is the second-most penalized team in the tournament, be more disciplined against the Americans, who have scored the second-most goals in the Winter Olympics.

Team U.S.A. cruised to a 6-2 victory over Slovakia to get to the finals, and the Canadians had a more stressful experience in the semis, but came out more battle-tested and hopefully learned from their mistakes.

Nevertheless, it’ll be an early game for everyone in North America on Sunday, and Team Canada will have an entire nation — sipping a mix of coffees and alcoholic beverages, while eating pancakes (with maple syrup, of course), decked out in red-and-white, and cheering them on.