Crosby quells Finland's momentum to clinch Canada spot in Final
The first matchup between the United States and Canada in this 4 Nations Face-Off was fiery. It was intense and heated. But it was also a highly-skilled, tightly-contested matchup between the top two teams in this best-on-best tournament.
It was the game of the year. It's hard to imagine that being topped.
But it might just be outdone here.
Canada defeated Finland, 5-3, today at TD Garden in its final game of preliminary-round play to advance to the championship game Thursday against the U.S., which beat Canada, in the initial meeting.
“It’s going to be intense," Brad Marchand said today after Canada clinched. "They’ve shown the type of game they can play. They don’t give up much. They’re going to be ready to compete hard on Thursday. We’re going to be the same. We’re really excited about having another crack at these guys. It’s going to be an intense game, for sure.”
Mike Sullivan was keeping tabs on Canada's matchup with Finland, and when he didn’t yet know that Canada would be Team USA's opponent in the championship, his immediate reaction was "that first game was such a great hockey game."
"I think it's great for hockey that there's an opportunity for these two teams to meet again," Sullivan said. "Both teams have star power all around the lineup. It was a very competitive hockey game, the first game. I would anticipate the next one will be every bit as competitive, if not more."
Today's game against Finland was a pretty intense, great game, too, though it didn't start that way. Both teams came into this game with even stakes -- win in regulation, and a spot in the final is yours. After which Connor McDavid gave Canada an early lead, capitalizing on a Finland turnover, and then Nathan MacKinnon doubled the lead 46 seconds later, and then Brayden Point made it 3-0 before first intermission.
Finland, hoping to rally and secure its own spot in the championship, was pushing hard to get back into the game in the second period. But that momentum was quelled when Sidney Crosby found MacKinnon from below the goal line to set up a one-timer:
Finland wasn't dead yet. Esa Lindell beat Jordan Binnington with a snap shot midway through the third, then Mikael Granlund netted two goals 23 seconds apart in the final two minutes to make it a one-goal game:
Had the game hit overtime, it would not have been enough alone for the winner to clinch a spot in the championship, and they would have needed help from the U.S. later in the evening to hold Sweden off from winning in regulation. Finland had all the momentum, and was a shot away from sending the game to an extra frame.
But then, Crosby happened again. Granlund was back on the ice and about to receive a pass in open-ice when Crosby lit him up with a huge hit and knocked him off the puck. Sam Reinhart picked up the loose puck, and got it right back to Crosby, who hit the empty net from nearly 100 feet out to quiet the Finns:
It was an impressive of an empty-net goal as you'll see, and it was a massive one for the implications of the game. It put Finland away and secured that spot in the final, where the Americans await.
"It'll be a great challenge," Crosby said of the upcoming rematch. "You look at the last game and the intensity, and both teams got to know each other pretty well, pretty quickly. ... Knowing what we're up against, it's an opportunity. I think we did a great job today of being a little bit better, learning from some things, and we'll look to do that Thursday."
The last time Crosby lost a game in a Canadian sweater prior to Saturday was back in the qualification round of the 2010 Olympics, a 5-3 loss to Team USA. Canada got its revenge in the end that year, with Crosby scoring the overtime golden goal.
Crosby has been absolutely key to Canada's first two wins in this tournament, this latest win and their opening 4-3 overtime win over Sweden. The stage is set for him once again.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
11:30 pm - 02.17.2025BostonCrosby quells Finland's momentum to clinch Canada spot in Final
The first matchup between the United States and Canada in this 4 Nations Face-Off was fiery. It was intense and heated. But it was also a highly-skilled, tightly-contested matchup between the top two teams in this best-on-best tournament.
It was the game of the year. It's hard to imagine that being topped.
But it might just be outdone here.
Canada defeated Finland, 5-3, today at TD Garden in its final game of preliminary-round play to advance to the championship game Thursday against the U.S., which beat Canada, in the initial meeting.
“It’s going to be intense," Brad Marchand said today after Canada clinched. "They’ve shown the type of game they can play. They don’t give up much. They’re going to be ready to compete hard on Thursday. We’re going to be the same. We’re really excited about having another crack at these guys. It’s going to be an intense game, for sure.”
Mike Sullivan was keeping tabs on Canada's matchup with Finland, and when he didn’t yet know that Canada would be Team USA's opponent in the championship, his immediate reaction was "that first game was such a great hockey game."
"I think it's great for hockey that there's an opportunity for these two teams to meet again," Sullivan said. "Both teams have star power all around the lineup. It was a very competitive hockey game, the first game. I would anticipate the next one will be every bit as competitive, if not more."
Today's game against Finland was a pretty intense, great game, too, though it didn't start that way. Both teams came into this game with even stakes -- win in regulation, and a spot in the final is yours. After which Connor McDavid gave Canada an early lead, capitalizing on a Finland turnover, and then Nathan MacKinnon doubled the lead 46 seconds later, and then Brayden Point made it 3-0 before first intermission.
Finland, hoping to rally and secure its own spot in the championship, was pushing hard to get back into the game in the second period. But that momentum was quelled when Sidney Crosby found MacKinnon from below the goal line to set up a one-timer:
Finland wasn't dead yet. Esa Lindell beat Jordan Binnington with a snap shot midway through the third, then Mikael Granlund netted two goals 23 seconds apart in the final two minutes to make it a one-goal game:
Had the game hit overtime, it would not have been enough alone for the winner to clinch a spot in the championship, and they would have needed help from the U.S. later in the evening to hold Sweden off from winning in regulation. Finland had all the momentum, and was a shot away from sending the game to an extra frame.
But then, Crosby happened again. Granlund was back on the ice and about to receive a pass in open-ice when Crosby lit him up with a huge hit and knocked him off the puck. Sam Reinhart picked up the loose puck, and got it right back to Crosby, who hit the empty net from nearly 100 feet out to quiet the Finns:
It was an impressive of an empty-net goal as you'll see, and it was a massive one for the implications of the game. It put Finland away and secured that spot in the final, where the Americans await.
"It'll be a great challenge," Crosby said of the upcoming rematch. "You look at the last game and the intensity, and both teams got to know each other pretty well, pretty quickly. ... Knowing what we're up against, it's an opportunity. I think we did a great job today of being a little bit better, learning from some things, and we'll look to do that Thursday."
The last time Crosby lost a game in a Canadian sweater prior to Saturday was back in the qualification round of the 2010 Olympics, a 5-3 loss to Team USA. Canada got its revenge in the end that year, with Crosby scoring the overtime golden goal.
Crosby has been absolutely key to Canada's first two wins in this tournament, this latest win and their opening 4-3 overtime win over Sweden. The stage is set for him once again.
Want to participate in our comments?
Want an ad-free experience?
Become a member, and enjoy premium benefits! Make your voice heard on the Steelers, Penguins and Pirates, and hear right back from tens of thousands of fellow Pittsburgh sports fans worldwide! Plus, access all our premium content, including Dejan Kovacevic columns, Friday Insider, daily Live Qs with the staff, more! And yeah, that's right, no ads at all!
We’d love to have you!