BOSTON – The 4 Nations Face-off dream final is set.
Canada hung on for a 5-3 victory over Finland Monday afternoon at TD Garden to tee up a high-profile championship bout with Team USA on Thursday, which will make for a riveting conclusion to a captivating tournament that has been more than the NHL could’ve ever asked for.
This game was only about getting to the next one for Team Canada.
After they were pushed around by the Americans in their first and only loss of the tournament on Saturday night at Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada was suddenly in control of its own fate if it hoped to get another shot at its rivals. Only a regulation win on Monday would lock it in.
Connor McDavid said it was far from over.
He said they’d treat Monday like a Game 7.
One thing about Suomi, however, is they never give up. Three goals in the final 5 1/2 minutes of the game allowed Finland to make Canada sweat for a second.
That was before Canada captain Sidney Crosby iced it with an empty-netter.
“The one thing about this team, they care,” Canada head coach Jon Cooper said before the game. “They’re giving you everything. I would say the times when we’ve shot ourselves in the foot because we’re trying to manufacture a play at times when there’s nothing there. It’s probably taken away a little bit of our zone time. Especially talking to the guys, you get some really good answers because they’re like, ‘Well, you see that opportunity, kind of in the NHL you take it understanding I wouldn’t get another one again.’
“In this tournament, only one or two of those opportunities are coming and the guys are trying to take advantage of situations that maybe in the NHL they wouldn’t as much because they want to make a difference. So I think a big thing for us is we have to play the game like how we played a tied game with five minutes left, that’s how we have to play the entire game. Just stay disciplined and in our process.
“We don’t need to manufacture something out of nothing because we’ve got the guys who have been able to make plays when it comes down to it. If I have to give this identity, it’s gamesmanship. That’s what this group has.”
There was no manufacturing needed for McDavid, only the talent that has made No. 97 one of the greatest players of this generation. The Oilers star scored for the second time in as many games off a wrister through traffic to get Canada on the board.
Just 46 seconds later, Nathan MacKinnon scored his first of two goals after getting behind Finland’s defense to double Canada’s lead, 2-0.
Finland immediately called a timeout, but it didn’t have the desired reset.
The game wasn’t even seven minutes old before Canada had a 3-0 lead after Brayden Point backhanded in a rebound. Cooper had highlighted Point’s game following the loss to USA, which led to the Lightning forward remaining on McDavid’s line for Monday’s contest.
Limited to just five shots on goal through the opening 20 minutes, Finland struggled to sustain offensive zone time.
Crosby then fed MacKinnon in the right circle for the four-goal lead just over five minutes into the second period.
That forced Finland to give goalie Kevin Lankinen the hook after the Canucks netminder gave up four goals on 13 shots. Predators goaltender Juuse Saros stopped 14 of the 14 shots he saw in relief.
After missing Saturday’s game against Team USA due to illness, Cale Makar was a game-time decision ahead of Monday’s game before the Avalanche defenseman ultimately played.
It was one of two changes made by Team Canada, which also opted to sit Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis in favor of Travis Konecny.
