Even missing Sidney Crosby, stacked power play gets Canada into the Olympic final
Canada's Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates with Sam Reinhart (13) and Macklin Celebrini (17) after MacKinnon scored a goal against Finland during the third period of a men's ice hockey semifinal game at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster
MILAN — Taking a penalty against Canada at the Olympics is a bad idea. Niko Mikkola high-sticking Nathan MacKinnon in the final few minutes was a really bad idea for Finland.
Nowhere is Canada's embarrassment of riches of high-end talent clearer than on the power play, when it can put arguably three of the five or six best hockey players on the planet on the ice at the same time in Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.
Even while missing injured captain Sidney Crosby and with Macklin Celebrini filling in and Sam Reinhart parking himself in front of that net, that unit scored the go-ahead goal with 35.2 seconds left Friday to send Canada to the gold medal game. McDavid traces the development of the power play back a year to the 4 Nations Face-Off.
“We’ve worked on this power play a lot,” McDavid said. "Something we talk about a lot. We do it for these big moments and found a way to score a big one in a big moment.”
Canada is 7 for 16 on the power play, a success rate of 43.75%. For reference, the NHL record for the best power-play efficiency over the course of a season is 32.4% by the 2022-23 Edmonton Oilers, who also had McDavid.
The saucer pass by McDavid over penalty killer Roope Hintz's stick and to MacKinnon was the latest example of why he's regarded as the best player in the league.
“I tried to feather one over there earlier and a guy got a stick on it, but he was open again and just tried to get it to him,” McDavid said.
Canada's Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a men's ice hockey semifinal game between Canada and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. Credit: AP/Hassan Ammar
McDavid also picked up an assist on the unit's first power-play goal against Finland when Makar shot the puck directly at Reinhart's stick for a textbook deflection that Juuse Saros had little chance of stopping.
“He was in a great spot," Makar said. "They kind of gave me a little bit of a lane, and (Reinhart is) obviously an amazing player and can read their PK or their defense really well and he put himself in a great spot. I just tried to get it there, and he made a great play.”
That goal cut Canada's deficit in half and took some of the pressure off. After Shea Theodore tied it with just under 10 minutes left, MacKinnon's winning goal wasn't just a great play by him and McDavid.
Celebrini, Canada's youngest player at the Olympics at 19, picked up the secondary assist and also made a major impact by jumping to screen Saros while MacKinnon was shooting.
Canada's Nathan MacKinnon (29) celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's third goal during a men's ice hockey semifinal game between Canada and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Friday, Feb. 20, 2026. Credit: AP/Petr David Josek
Asked if he had ever seen a player that age play as well as Celebrini did, 36-year-old Drew Doughty responded, “No, I haven't.” Doughty was the youngest player on the team in 2010 at 20 when Canada won gold on home ice in Vancouver and quipped, "I didn’t play as good as him.”
Celebrini also starred at even strength on the line coach Jon Cooper put together, alongside McDavid and MacKinnon. He led all players with eight shots on goal, and the “three Macs," as Cooper called them, drove Canada's attack all game at 5 on 5.
“It’s phenomenal,” forward Bo Horvat said. “They’re obviously our best line tonight by mile, and they just create so much offense, and they have so much great chemistry. They all think alike, and they were phenomenal again for us.”
