[GDT] Canada vs USA - Gold Medal Game - Men’s Hockey

[Winsor_Pilates]

Originally Posted by taxbuster

I was busy packing us out of our hotel room in Van, with our brand new 8-week old puppy and getting ready for the drive home. I saw some of the game, and as I was on a trip to the car heard a guy say “Oh, no.” I knew. Still haven’t seen the goal as we are back home with fun times puppy!!

Don't name him Jack or Helly

[White Out 403]

Originally Posted by Cecil Terwilliger

Pictures on social media, which I can’t verify are legitimate, show team USA partying with members of the trump administration.

But it's not political!

[united]

For those asking for MacKinnon’s reaction to the stuffy.

https://twitter.com/user/status/2025606386390855700

[Itse]

The same thing happened three games in a row. Canada dominated the scoring chances three games in a row, and their only regulation win was on a PP less than a minute before the end of regulation.

This was a pattern with this team,.which is weird because on paper this should be a team that wins games 5-3, not 2-1.

I think coaching staff has some responsibility in managing players emotional levels, even though the main responsibility has to be with the players themselves, especially when most of them are veterans.

I also think in the end the MacKinnon-McDavid-Celebrini thing wasn't very successful. It was always less than the sum of its parts.

That said, McDavid absolutely effed up in the OT, two really dumb plays, just the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do on OT.

Marner saw an opening and took it, but this wasn't that. This was just McD trying to force a play when there was no need. Loser gonna keep losing.

[bob-loblaw]

Canada vastly outplayed the Americans, but had a tough time beating Hellybuyck. It happens, and we've seen it happen for as long as hockey has been played. I thought we'd lose as soon as it went to overtime. We were playing so aggressively for two periods that it seemed inevitable a mistake would be capitalized on.

The American's not getting a penalty for having such an obvious too many men on the ice penalty is really the only thing that bothered me this game. Dumb penalties like that seem to be the ones that goals get scored on.

[White Out 403]

The Yankees winning and watching their war criminal administration celebrate their gold is like Watching Star Wars, except the Empire wins.

[troutman]

After a few hours, I have to say I don't feel bad at all. Nothing like 2004. Canada played well enough to win and were a little unlucky. Nice to see best on best.

Would like to see eight game summit with USA to prove who is best.

Looking forward to trade deadline.

[Jason14h]

Originally Posted by Mathgod

No I'm not confusing anything. Canada is better at actual hockey, but the IOC used something that isn't hockey to determine the winner. That means artificially taking away Canada's advantage at the actual sport they are supposed to be playing.

Canada was equally as good at actual hockey as the USA today - hence the 1-1 tie in regulation

[Mathgod]

Originally Posted by Jason14h

Canada was equally as good at actual hockey as the USA today - hence the 1-1 tie in regulation

Get back to me when you learn the difference between luck and proficiency.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by White Out 403

The Yankees winning and watching their war criminal administration celebrate their gold is like Watching Star Wars, except the Empire wins.

Right now I'd gladly take the hit if the death star appeared in earth's orbit and Alderaan'ed us starting with the white house/maralago.

We weren't exactly on a good trajectory anyways.

[TrentCrimmIndependent]

Originally Posted by united

For those asking for MacKinnon’s reaction to the stuffy.

https://twitter.com/user/status/2025606386390855700

That's funny.

[CliffFletcher]

Originally Posted by 3thirty

Crosby shows his class. Doesn't even play and still takes time for an interview. Could easily skip with a valid excuse.

The fact Crosby was the one sitting up there at the table with Cooper fielding questions from the media makes me question the rest of the leadership. Even if Crosby offered (and I'm sure he did), McDavid or MacKinnon should have stepped up. Crosby didn't even dress and he's the one up there taking the heat.

While McDavid and MacKinnon are great players, they're not what anyone would call calm and collected. The team Canada management and coaching worried about the dressing room in the leadup, which is one of the reasons they wanted Marchand and Doughty on the team - to try to keep things a bit loose.

Nobody questions the committment of players like McDavid, MacKinnon, and Makar. But when your team's best players are so tightly-wound, you can wind up with everybody clutching their sticks too tight. Which is exactly what we saw. Several of the chances Team Canada players flubbed on would have gone in 3 out of 4 times in a regular season NHL game.

[EldrickOnIce]

Canada played around 185 minutes of playoff hockey at the Olympics
They led for about 6 of those minutes
That's probably not enough

[Beninho]

Originally Posted by CliffFletcher

The fact Crosby was the one sitting up there at the table with Cooper fielding questions from the media makes me question the rest of the leadership. Even if Crosby offered (and I'm sure he did), McDavid or MacKinnon should have stepped up. Crosby didn't even dress and he's the one up there taking the heat.

While McDavid and MacKinnon are great players, they're not what anyone would call calm and collected. The team Canada management and coaching worried about the dressing room in the leadup, which is one of the reasons they wanted Marchand and Doughty on the team - to try to keep things a bit loose.

Nobody questions the committment of players like McDavid, MacKinnon, and Makar. But when your team's best players are so tightly-wound, you can wind up with everybody clutching their sticks too tight. Which is exactly what we saw. Several of the chances Team Canada players flubbed on would have gone in 3 out of 4 times in a regular season NHL game.

I do think the lack of Olympic experience really hurt, the pressure and style of tournament at the Olympics is a different animal and it’s too bad that the core of this team did not get a chance in 2022 and in 2018. I’d imagine they would have been a much different beast if the core already had Olympic experience. Most of the big guns on this team know they may only get one more chance at this and the pressure on their faces in this one showed it.

[united]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

So, when you as the last time mcdavid has captained a team to winning a championship?

From what I remember and can find, he has never won anything at any level as captain. Furthermore, from age 13 onward he has had an incredible run of futility. Hard to accomplish as little as he has on a team level considering his generational skill, compounded by him continually bottling big games:

2011-12 Midget/OHL Cup as Assistant Captain of the Marlboros
- Lost in finals in overtime to Robby Fabbri's Mississauga Rebels.
- McDavid was held to just 1 assist in the game after 209 points in 88 games that season.

2012-13 and 2013-14 as non-letter for the Otters
- Did not make finals in either season.

2014 World Juniors as non-letter for Team Canada
- Canada failed to medal.

2014-15 as Captain of the Otters
- Lost in the finals to Hunter Smith's Oshawa Generals.
- McDavid was held to 0 points and was -3 in the deciding game after 120 points in 47 games in the regular season.

2015 World Juniors as Assistant Captain of Team Canada
- Team Canada wins Gold.
- McDavid with 1 goal and +1 in the game.

2016 World Cup as Captain of Team North America
- Failed to qualify for the knockout stage.

2016 World Championships as non-letter for Team Canada
- Team Canada wins Gold.
- McDavid with 1 goal and +1 in the game.

2015-16 as non-letter for the Oilers.
- Miss playoffs.

2018 World Championships as Captain of Team Canada
- Canada failed to medal.

2016-17 to 2022-23 as Captain of the Oilers
- Did not make finals in any of the seven seasons.

2023-24 as Captain of the Oilers
- Lost in 7 games to the Panthers.
- McDavid held to 0 points and even in the deciding game.

2025 Four Nations Face-Off as Assistant Captain of Team Canada
- Team Canada wins Gold.
- McDavid scored the championship goal and finished even in the game.

2024-25 as Captain of the Oilers
- Lost in 6 games to the Panthers.
- McDavid held to 0 points and -4 in the deciding game.

2026 Olympics as Captain of Team Canada for the final two games
- Lost in finals in overtime to Auston Matthews' USA.
- McDavid held to 0 points and -2 in the game.

[browna]

There’s a lot of analysis in this thread that if Makar steals that puck and scores instead of missing it on the pinch, become irrelevant and it’s the Americans navel gazing about not winning the big game. Instead it’s Canada fans dwelling on coaching, leadership, McDavid, Crosby, Binnington and all the choices made in the lineup.

Always can look at things in hindsight but the result in this game, as is many things in the Olympics in general, decided by centimetres.

One thing if Canada flamed out in the QFs or something, much different when it goes to OT in a gold medal game after being clearly the better more controlling team for the majority of the game.

[Manhattanboy]

Weird MacKinnon didn’t take out his guy. Split second thing. 9/10 times he makes the check.

[sa226]

I think I kind of had my own "ahah!" moment, however irrelevant it is.

I was super invested in 2002 and 2010. for the obvious reasons, but also because we had our own guy there in Iginla. He is/was such a fantastic human being and so easy to cheer for. I wanted him to be a big difference maker for team Canada because that added to my pride as a flames fan. They are just a bunch of dudes playing hockey, but there's a human element added to it. We're all fans of team Canada every 4 years, but we're Flames fans every day.

I'm a big fan of the class act that Crosby has become, but he's not our guy.

I think that's why I'm pretty much over this loss already. It's also softened by the joy on the faces of the Gaudreau family.

Hopefully Parekh becomes another truly good guy that we can cheer for, who becomes a team Canada mainstay, because that would draw me right back in.

[Enoch Root]

Originally Posted by Itse

The same thing happened three games in a row. Canada dominated the scoring chances three games in a row, and their only regulation win was on a PP less than a minute before the end of regulation.

This was a pattern with this team,.which is weird because on paper this should be a team that wins games 5-3, not 2-1.

I think coaching staff has some responsibility in managing players emotional levels, even though the main responsibility has to be with the players themselves, especially when most of them are veterans.

I also think in the end the MacKinnon-McDavid-Celebrini thing wasn't very successful. It was always less than the sum of its parts.

That said, McDavid absolutely effed up in the OT, two really dumb plays, just the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do on OT.

Marner saw an opening and took it, but this wasn't that. This was just McD trying to force a play when there was no need. Loser gonna keep losing.

I don't think there was anything wrong with the coaching, or the lines, or anything like that. I think it's as simple as: sometimes the puck goes in, sometimes it doesn't. They were dominant every game - keep playing, and they go on a hot streak and put up 6 a game for a while.

[browna]

Also, kudos for Makar playing the long game.

Why be the hero for Canada on that play when your value now goes down a bit and now you can justify leaving Colorado when it’s UFA time, as your own fans turn on you and taunt you, so you have more justification to leave that team and that country?

He won’t make that mistake in the 2029 Stanley Cup Finals as captain for his hometown team.