Binnington, Canada survive late Finland push, hold on for 5-3 win setting up championship rematch vs. United States
Things were going so well for Jordan Binnington and Canada, probably too well. And perhaps too easy.
Until it wasn't.
But in the end, Canada got it's rematch against the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off by holding off stubborn Finland, 5-3, at TD Garden in Boston on Monday.
The Canadians, who fell 3-1 to USA on Saturday at Bell Centre in Montreal to set up an elimination game on Monday against the Finns, were focused and locked in, jumping to a 3-0 first-period lead that grew to 4-0 when Nathan MacKinnon scored and chased Finland goalie Kevin Lankinen in favor of Juuse Saros.
And when Binnington, who has received mixed reviews from fans in his home country on his performance thus far, put in a sharp 12-save second period to help Canada take a 4-0 lead into the final 20 minutes of what should have been a formality.
And it was for the first 13 minutes ... until it wasn't.
Those pesky Finns, who were also playing for a spot in the championship Thursday, wouldn't go quietly.
Esa Lindell scored from a sharp angle to the left of Binnington over the pad and under the blocker to make it 4-1 with 6:41 remaining. No harm, right? All that was lost was a shutout.
Well, when Finland pulled Saros, Mikael Granlund scored twice 23 seconds apart, and suddenly a three-goal lead was a knee-clattering one-goal lead at 4-3 with 1:37 to play.
But Sidney Crosby's check in the neutral zone and ensuing chuck of a puck into an empty net with 56 seconds to play provided the proverbial exhale among maple leaf nation and a 5-3 final.
Binnington finished with 23 saves and fellow Blues teammate, defenseman Colton Parayko, who was part of the opening three-fight spree in the first nine seconds on Saturday, played 17:26 and had one shot on goal with three hits.
