After Canada came back from 2-0 down, Nathan MacKinnon scored the game-winning goal with 35.2 seconds left
Josh Morrissey was ruled out again for Team Canada and it can’t be understated what a loss that’s been for the team in this tournament. He’s their second-best defenseman after Cale Makar. His loss has hampered what was supposed to be Canada’s shutdown pair again with Colton Parayko, as it was at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year. Morrissey went the full hour at practice on Tuesday on the eve of the quarterfinals and it sure appeared as though he was on the mend. But he missed that game, then skipped Thursday’s optional practice before once again being scratched for Friday’s semifinal. Not ideal.
Team Canada has rotated a few defensemen with Parayko since his absence. It was Thomas Harley’s turn Friday, which really makes the most sense as Harley and Morrissey share a similar skill set. That left Travis Sanheim and Drew Doughty as the third pairing for Friday’s game. Sanheim pinched in a couple of times in the opening period to create some looks for Canada.
Down 2-1 and looking for offense, Team Canada made a tangible adjustment to open the third period. With Finland collapsing down low so much while protecting the net, the Canadians started using their point men more, looking for point shots to get tips or rebounds. It finally led to Shea Theodore’s blast from the point getting through and beating Saros top corner to tie the game 2-2.
The Finns paid the price for their rope-a-dope approach after going up 2-0 in the second period. They sat back way too much, trying to protect a lead with too much time left in the game. The shots were 14-3 Canada in the second period alone.
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