Jon Cooper called Connor McDavid’s shot.
Well, sort of.
One of the things that has long made Cooper a successful coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning has been his ability to get the most out of his players. And with him being on the bench of Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off, that came through in a big way during Thursday night’s overtime against the United States in the final game of the tournament.
Canada had been outshot 6-3 just 12 minutes into the extra frame, when he called for McDavid and Mitch Marner to jump over the boards. But before he did, he had a few words for his bench.
Somebody be selfish and shoot it in the net. McDavid with Marner.
Jon Cooper: “Somebody be selfish and shoot it in the net.”
Connor McDavid: *scores on the very next shot* 🤯🔥 pic.twitter.com/mz6rKKHwY8
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 21, 2025
The quote, which came in thanks to Cooper being mic’d up, proved fruitful. Off the next faceoff, McDavid fired a quick shot off the draw which went wide, before Cale Makar rimmed the puck around the boards, keeping it deep in the American zone. The puck found its way to Marner as McDavid snuck to the middle of the ice, finding himself all alone.
The rest will go down as history, as McDavid dusted off the puck, firing it past USA netminder Connor Hellebuyck.
It becomes a watershed moment for McDavid, too, as what might just be the biggest goal he’s scored in his career, while flipping a narrative around an off-performance. See, McDavid wasn’t exactly having a sparking performance Thursday night.
He had been on the ice for Brady Tkachuk’s first-period goal, and didn’t quite look like himself all night, taking two shots on goal on five attempts prior to the overtime shift in which he scored. It drew the ire of some on social media, comparing it to the Oilers Game 7 against the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final, a game in which he didn’t register a point and had two shots on goal in the loss.
Instead, McDavid came up clutch for Canada, scoring a Golden goal that will live on forever.
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.
