Canada Escapes The Grips Of Death Yet Again And Are Heading To The Gold Medal Game After Finland Blows 2-0 Lead
JULIEN DE ROSA. Getty Images.Canada isn't this unbeatable giant of an opponent. You could argue this is the most talented roster ever put together in hockey history, but there are still plenty of flaws. The defense is good, not incredible. The goaltending can come up clutch, but it's far from perfect the entire game. If you're going to beat Canada, the recipe is there. You need to get out to an early lead, you need to stay out of the penalty box, and you can't take your foot off the gas just because you have that lead.
Finland accomplished the first part of the recipe. They got out to a 2-0 lead, and had Canada so back on their heels that they were almost on their ass. But you need to sweep the leg. You need to…finish them. Instead, Finland decided to play the dumbest possible game imaginable after getting up 2-0.
First up it was a high sticking penalty that put Canada on the powerplay for this Sam Reinhart goal.
I know Erik Haula scored shorthanded earlier in the game, but that's such an aberration. Typically the rule in life is if you take penalties against Canada, you die. There is an ungodly amount of firepower on that powerplay unit. McDavid, MacKinnon, Makar, Celebrini. Those are 4 out of the best like 7 players on planet Earth right now. Then you add in Sam Reinhart, who has been the best powerplay producer over the last few years? You're not taking 4 penalties against Canada without giving up at least 1 powerplay goal. And that's if you're lucky.
Finland wasn't lucky. Because with just under 3 minutes left to go in regulation, they took another penalty. This time it was Niko Mikkola putting Canada on the powerplay to close out regulation. This was maybe the most sickening powerplay there ever was. There were like 13 different changes in the first 45 seconds. Nothing went in on the first barrage, but it was the 2nd possession that put the dagger in the Finns. McDavid to MacKinnon. World #1 to World #2.
If you give McDavid and MacKinnon about 6 different chances to score, they are going to finally make you pay one of those times. A perfect feed leading to a perfect shot. And now for the 2nd game in a row, Canada has found a way to break out of their own coffin to stay alive.
They're not perfect. They're not unbeatable. But both Finland and the Czechs just couldn't find a way to finish the job. Maybe they were shocked they were in that position in the first place, and it slipped away from them. But if you give this Canadian team chances to keep themselves alive, they have too much talent to just roll over and die. The only good news if Team USA advances to the gold medal game is that Canada has been using up a ton of energy in these last couple games. Both physically and emotionally. You have to figure they'd be close to drained at this point. Hopefully.
