Young guns dazzle, but are they done?
OT goal gives North America chance to advance, but needs help from Finns
Of course, it ended with a highlight-reel goal. Of course it did.
Team North America, which defeated Sweden 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday, has provided nothing but jaw-dropping highlights since the start of the World Cup of Hockey. So if this was the end of the line for the Under-24 team, it was rather fitting.
Nathan MacKinnon was alone with the puck on his stick with a chance to win the game in overtime. What happened next was a literal blur. MacKinnon made six or seven dekes before eventually flicking a backhand over a helpless Henrik Lundqvist.
Game-winner. But it came with an asterisk.
Sweden, which picked up a point in the overtime loss, automatically advances to the semifinal as the top team in Group B with five points. But now we have to wait for the outcome of Thursday’s game between Russia and a winless Finland to find out who else joins them.
If Russia loses, North America is in. If not, this crazy experiment is over.
“Honestly. when I scored I thought we were in,” said MacKinnon. “A few of us were talking that maybe we shouldn’t have celebrated so hard. But you know what, if we lost, we’re out so we gave ourselves a chance. It’s going to be very stressful tomorrow.”
Either way, it’s been a hell of a ride. GM Peter Chiarelli had predicted this team would be the “red-headed step child” of the World Cup. But in three short games, they’ve wowed crowds with their speed and skill and become the darlings of the tournament. Each of their games has been memorable, with Wednesday’s game acting as a greatest hits package.
Frankly, we don’t want it to end. No one does.
“Obviously we want to move on to the next round. That’s why we came here,” said Mark Scheifele. “Hopefully we get some help. It’s been very exciting. To be a part of this team, just hearing the crowd when we won and seeing the fans smack on the glass — it was pretty cool to be a part of that. It was obviously an honour to be a part of this team.”
That jaw-dropping talent was on display for most of Wednesday’s game, as North America pressured Sweden with speed and stretch passes.
There were four breakaways in the first period alone. And also a penalty shot. And they all came against Sweden, a team that was supposed to have the best defence in the tournament.
The first two-and-a-half minutes encompassed everything fans love about this team, as North America flew up and down the ice generating scoring chance after scoring chance. They scored twice in that span and had three goals by the time the period ended. They could have had four more goals.
When asked what he was thinking to himself during those frantic first minutes, Erik Karlsson laughed.
“Wake the f--- up!” he said. “Those first two minutes there was probably the most embarrassing part that I’ve ever been a part of on a team. They did it all. They had three breakaways, a penalty shot, penalty call against us, two goals in the net. And it gave us kind of a slap in the face.”
On the first shift of the game, McDavid split Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman and was stopped on a breakaway. The puck then went to Auston Matthews, who deked past a Sweden defender while on his knees and then set up Morgan Rielly for a one-timer, before potting in the rebound 30 seconds into the game.
On the next shift, Johnny Gaudreau was given a penalty shot after Karlsson tripped him on a breakaway. Gaudreau didn’t score, but a goal from Vincent Trocheck gave North America a two-goal lead 95 seconds into the first period.
They weren’t done yet. Gaudreau scored on another breakaway and a long pass from Shayne Gostisbehere to McDavid might have resulted in another if not for goaltender Lundqvist.
“He had a terrific game,” Karlsson said of Lundqvist. “He made the key saves when we needed him to make them. We weren’t there, he bailed us out. As a goaltender, I can’t even imagine how it feels to be that left alone and let in two quick goals. How he can rebound from that.”
If not for Lundqvist, who faced 49 shots and seemed to have McDavid’s number, this one would have been over by the time the first period ended. Instead, North America never really pulled away. And the closer things stayed, the more dangerous Sweden became, eventually tying the game in the third period.
Still, it was skill that won North America the game. And if that was the last goal that we see from this collection of players, which may never play again, then that’s OK.
“Well, if I get a vote, I’d like to do it again,” said North America head coach Todd McLellan. “We’ve proven that this young generation can play with the older ones. We’ve been very entertaining. I think if you surveyed 99 out of 100 fans, they’d probably say put them in again, so those are all real positive things.”