Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki and Team Canada lost the Olympic final to Team USA, but Suzuki still won a silver medal and earned a lot of respect in other markets.
After Montreal Canadiens fans were treated to an Oliver Kapanen vs Juraj Slafkovsky duel in the bronze medal game, they got to watch Nick Suzuki fill some big skates in the gold medal game as Sidney Crosby was once again unable to play. As a result, Suzuki was once again skating between Mitch Marner and Mark Stone.
The Americans started strong, creating some pressure in the Canadian zone early on, but they were unable to get a shot on net, as Canada blocked every attempt. After shaking off the early jitters, Jon Cooper’s men went on the attack. Still, it was Mike Sullivan’s crew that scored the first goal on a beautiful individual effort by Matt Boldy, who scored on Team USA’s first shot, something Canadiens’ fans have seen too often this season.
Suzuki spent 4:53 on the ice in the first frame, forechecking hard and picking the Americans’ pocket twice. When Canada was sent to the box for two minutes, he was on the ice, killing the penalty for over a minute, which just goes to show how much Cooper trusts him.
Canada pressed on in the second, attacking relentlessly with Cooper tweaking his lines and using Connor McDavid for 9:27. At the same time, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini each had around 7:30. The Americans sat back and resisted wave after wave of attacks, even killing a 1:33 5-on-3. Connor Hellebuyck was amazing, but Canada did manage to tie up the score through Cale Makar after Bo Horvat won the draw in the offensive zone and Suzuki battled along the boards to get the puck to Toews. The Canadiens captain only spent 2:05 on the ice in the second frame, but he made the most of his limited ice time.
Canada kept on attacking relentlessly in the third frame, dominating with 14 shots to the Americans’ 10. Suzuki spent 3:33 on the ice in the third, got a shot on goal, but Hellebuyck once again stood tall. Sam Bennet took a four-minute high-stick penalty, but with nearly a minute left in it, Jack Hughes got a minor for high-sticking as well; neither team was able to score, and the game headed to overtime.
After 60 minutes, the score was still 1-1, but Canada had missed so many chances. MacKinnon had an empty net to shoot at and missed it. Devon Toews had the same opportunity, but Hellebuyck made a magical stick save on top of stopping both McDavid and Celebrini on breakaway opportunities.
Jordan Binnington made a big save in overtime, but it only delayed the Americans’ win, which came after just a minute and 41 seconds of overtime. Jack Hughes scored the goal, and Zach Werenski got the primary assist, but Hellebuyck, as if to put the final exclamation mark on his performance, got the second one.
Would MacKinnon, McDavid, and Celibrini have been able to score on their opportunity if they hadn’t played as much in the final, if they had been a bit more rested in the second frame? We’ll never know. A lot of coaching comes down to what the bench boss is feeling, and Cooper felt his big guns gave him the best chance to win. They did everything they could, taking 42 shots on goal, but the American goaltender was just too good on the day.
Suzuki finished the game with 10:31 of ice time, two shots on goal, and a plus-one rating. He can hold his head up high. At the start of this tournament, some questioned his place in the lineup, but he showed he belongs on the biggest stage of them all. In this tournament, Suzuki didn’t just win a silver medal; he earned respect from hockey markets outside Montreal.
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