Team Canada's Olympic campaign was one goal away from ending in the quarterfinals against Czechia. Mitch Marner, who was criticized with the Maple Leafs for failing to rise up to the occasion, met the moment again for the national team.
MILAN, Italy - Mitch Marner has spent the better part of his career being criticized as a player who fails to rise in big occasions.
A year ago, Marner scored in overtime at the 4 Nations and then set up the championship winner in overtime. On Wednesday, he came up big again by scoring in overtime in a 4-3 win against Czechia in the Olympic quarterfinal.
"The 'it' factor man. Mitch Marner's got it," said Canada coach Jon Cooper. "I've watched it at World Championships, 4 Nations, Olympics. I've seen it all out of him. There's just never a doubt in my mind in throwing that kid over the boards, because he doesn't disappoint. Sometimes your hair falls out at times, but in the end he never disappoints."
Chances are Cooper lost a few more strands of hair on Wednesday.
This was a rollercoaster of a game. It was also the first test of adversity that Canada faced all tournament.
Canada had been perfect in the round-robin, dominating every team they faced. But despite beating Czechia 5-0 in the first game of the tournament, the rematch was a lot closer. Canada took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Macklin Celebrini, but Czechia answered back with two of their own to take a 2-1 lead.
"Both teams were more desperate," said defenseman Drew Doughty. "We didn’t come out underestimating them in any way. Things just weren't going our way."
Things kept going against Canada, which lost Sidney Crosby to a lower-body injury in the second period, and then found themselves down 3-2 midway through the third period. With less than seven minutes remaining, this was looking like it was going to be a massive upset, on par with Canada's 1998 loss to Czechia in the semifinal.
But a goal from Nick Suzuki tied the game, setting up a 3-on-3 overtime, where Marner's skill took over.
"Those are the kinds of plays that not many guys in the world can make," said Mark Stone. "That's why he's out there for overtime."
"Man, it was a sick goal," said Doughty.
Taking a drop pass from Celebrini, Marner looked like he was going to pass the puck back to Celebrini, before finding a hole in the Czech defense and beating goalie Lukas Dostal with a backhand that found the top corner.
"Just happy to contribute," said Marner, who picked up his first goal of the tournament. "Saw Mack kind of on my right side and was kind of looking to make a play to him and saw two guys cheating over to it and then kind of saw a hole in the gap and tried to shoot it. I was unable to. From that point on, I got the puck on my stick quickly and make a move and go far side with it."
It was easily Marner's biggest goal of his career and biggest goal of Canada's tournament so far. What made it even sweeter was that Marner's wife and son were in the stands.
"It's a pretty special one," said Marner. "It's been really cool to be a part of this tournament. It's something that I've dreamt of as a kid to be a part of. We still have a lot of work to do, we just have to make sure we stay focused and keep doing what we're doing."
For Marner, who had been unable to get Toronto over the hump in the playoffs during his first nine years in the league, it had to be a huge weight off his shoulders. The 28-year-old left Toronto in the summer in a sign-and-trade to Vegas, where presumably he will be under less scrutiny and pressure. But as he showed on Wednesday, he is capable of rising to the occasion on the world stage.
"As a teammate, I haven't experienced that," said Stone, who is Marner's teammate in Vegas. "At the 4 Nations, he got an incredible goal for us, 4 Nations, he made an incredible play on the winner. And tonight, when we needed him the most, he makes a play.
"I think it's a Toronto thing."
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