If your heart was pounding in the final minutes of that quarterfinal, you aren't alone. What was supposed to be a straightforward step toward the podium turned into an absolute slugfest. Canada is officially moving on to the semifinals after a pulse-pounding 4–3 overtime victory over a Czechia team that simply refused to go away. …
If your heart was pounding in the final minutes of that quarterfinal, you aren’t alone. What was supposed to be a straightforward step toward the podium turned into an absolute slugfest. Canada is officially moving on to the semifinals after a pulse-pounding 4–3 overtime victory over a Czechia team that simply refused to go away.
But this win didn’t come cheap. Between a massive injury scare for the captain and a late-game officiating mess that had everyone screaming at their TVs, Canada’s “perfect” tournament just got a lot more complicated. Canada looks a little banged up, but I am excited to see how they bounce back from this. They needed some pushback at some point, and they rose to the occasion today.
Canada came out flying, but the Czechs had clearly done their homework since the preliminary round. This wasn’t the same team that got shut out a week ago.
The biggest talking point—other than the score—was the officiating late in the third period. During the sequence leading up to Palat’s 3–2 goal, the Czechs appeared to have six skaters on the ice for a prolonged period during a messy line change.
The Canadian bench was livid, and social media exploded with replays showing the extra man clearly involved in the play. Despite the protests from head coach Jon Cooper, no “too many men” penalty was called. It was a sequence that nearly derailed Canada’s entire Olympic run, and you can bet Hockey Canada will be looking for answers from the IIHF officials.
The victory feels a bit hollow as fans wait for news on Sidney Crosby. Early in the second period, “Sid the Kid” took a heavy hit from Radko Gudas and went down awkwardly. He left the game immediately and did not return. This left the Canadian fans absolutely astonished and started to feel some panic and anger, especially at Radko Gudas.
Coach Cooper was tight-lipped afterward, saying how the guys made sure that this wasn’t his ” last game in the Olympics”. He also said that it is quite unusual for the captain. He did not give any updates on Sidney Crosby, but we expect to get one tomorrow. Many are saying it could be MCL by the looks of it.
Canada now moves on to face Finland on Friday, February 20, at 10:40 AM ET.
On the other side of the bracket, the USA took down Sweden in overtime and will face Slovakia. We are officially one win away from a potential “Gold Medal Edition” of the Canada-USA rivalry.
Canada has shown they can win pretty, and now they’ve shown they can win ugly. Two wins to go. Hockey can’t get much better than this.
