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The men’s hockey semi-finals began on Friday morning, with the opening act being the heavyweight championship between Canada and Finland.
Both the Canadians and the Finns made it through OT thrillers in the semifinals, but for Team Canada, the victory came at a cost. Captain Sidney Crosby was injured when he was hit by Radko Gudas of Czechia and left the game early.
Shea Theodore (27) of Canada celebrates with teammates after scoring Canada’s second goal in the ice hockey semi-final between Canada and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. In Milan, Italy, on Feb. 20, 2026. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)
Shortly before puck drop on Friday, it was announced that he would be out of the lineup against Finland.
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This was the last news Canada needed against a very good Finland team that played more physically than Finnish teams in previous Olympics.
The Finns opened the scoring late in the fast and physical opening frame with Mikko Rantanen lighting the lamp just seconds into a Finnish run game after Canada’s Sam Bennett had a goalie save.
Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros came up big as the Canadians got more rubber on the net than the Finns.
Special teams continued to be a big issue in the second as we got our first taste of a Crosby-less Canadian power play after Sebastian Aho was called for pass interference, but things got out of hand quickly.
Finland surprised Canada by being able to move the puck out of its possession and Nashville spring Erik Haula on a short break, which he buried to go up 2-0.
Canada’s Nathan MacKinnon (29) scores Canada’s third goal during the ice hockey semifinal match between Canada and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. In Milan, Italy, on Feb. 20, 2026. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)
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About ten minutes later, Finland’s Anton Lundell took a huge penalty, and — can you believe it? – special teams became the story again, only this time in Canada’s favor.
Lundell’s Florida Panthers teammate Sam Reinhart deflected Cale Makar’s shot to take that goose egg away from the Canadiens.
Canada continued to apply the pressure, and with just under ten minutes left in regulation, outscored the Finns 29-14.
That pressure led to a rebound from the top of the circle by Shea Theodore to find the back of the net.
The Finns were not happy about the contact Brad Marchand made with Saros, but if you watch that again, the contact was clearly initiated by Finland’s Erik Haula in the crease.
Canada never let up after that, and that pressure contributed to Finland’s Niko Mikkola taking a penalty on Nathan MacKinnon’s high stick with about two and a half minutes left in regulation.
Nathan MacKinnon (29) of Canada celebrates with his teammates after scoring Canada’s third goal during the semi-final ice hockey match between Canada and Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. In Milan, Italy, on Feb. 20, 2026. (Petr David Josek/AP Photo)
Once again, special teams produced, as Nathan MacKinnon hit the game-winner with just 35.2 seconds left in regulation.
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The Finns challenged the goal, claiming the Canadians were offside – and boy, was it close; totally worth the toss – but the call went up, and Team Canada was up 3-2.
That’s how things ended, with the Canadians going 3-0 to secure their spot in Sunday’s gold medal game, where they will face the winner of Friday afternoon’s other semifinal between Team USA and Slovakia.
As for the Finns, they still have work to do as they will face the loser of that game in the bronze medal game on Saturday.
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