Head coach Jon Cooper reacts to Team Canada’s dramatic come-from-behind 3-2 win over Finland in the semifinal of the 2026 Winter Olympic hockey tournament.
On Team Canada storming back to win in two straight games:
There is belief. As I said the other day, there is a quiet calm amongst the group.
I think they were a little choked. We gave up a few freebies — one off a faceoff to a world-class player, who buries it. And then we give up a shorty, so now we are down two against a team that is known for its defense.
The message was that we couldn’t get them all back in one shift. We had to chip away. It was a big one by Sam (Reinhart), so now we are down by one.
We went to the room and kind of regrouped. I felt we leaned on [Finland] in the second. We took a bit out of them.
The big thing is that we kind of restructured our lines a little bit. Bennett, Wilson, and Marchand — there is a little snarl on that line, and they did all of the things those types of players do. They get the tying goal.
We didn’t wait so long this time, so now there are nine-and-a-half minutes left. We just didn’t want to change our game. We didn’t want to sit back and say, “Take a breath because we tied it.”
Fortunately, we drew the penalty, and the big boys took over.
On what worked about the Brad Marchand – Sam Bennett – Tom Wilson line:
Everything. They’re intimidating. They can play with pace. When a puck is dumped in the corner, I don’t think anyone is choosing which one they want to get in there and hit them. They create space for themselves.
They have kind of a shot-scramble attitude going on there. They’re not afraid to go to the net front. That was something we could’ve done better in front of Juuse Saros because he is such an exceptional goalie. They did it there. They took his eyes away and scored.
They earned it. They deserved to play.
On Macklin Celebrini’s continued impact and growth in the tournament:
He’s generational, that kid. He plays it the right way. For someone that young to understand where to be… and he has pulled the risk out of his game that he had in the first game of the tournament.
Early on, he would try to make something out of nothing, which superstar players can do. In this tournament, you can’t. The best players in the world all check.
For him to figure it out so early and now do the things he is doing… I am surprised I didn’t play him more.
On the theatrics of the past few games with the dramatic endings:
What a game. This is what you get with best-on-best in the Olympic Games. It hasn’t been played like this in 20 years. This is what you’re getting: comebacks, late-game finishes, heroics, overtimes. If you look at the women’s game last night, it fit the bill with what everyone was expecting. It’s edge-of-your-seat hockey. This is phenomenal to be a part of.
On whether he thought MacKinnon’s game-winning goal might’ve been offside when Team Finland challenged it:
I’ll be honest. When the play went across the line, I was yelling right away, “Is that offside?” I thought it was close. We eventually scored, and the guys assured us it was good. But when they spend so much time over there, you kind of doubt yourself. But our guys were adamant, and it was close — really close.
In the end, it was onside, and give the ref credit for letting it go. There are times when refs don’t let those go, and you may not get an opportunity to see what you just saw.
On the odds of Sidney Crosby dressing for the gold medal game on Sunday:
Well, he has much more of a chance of playing in the gold medal game than he did today.
Connor McDavid on Canada’s cardiac comebacks: “We are putting the country through it… A lot of stressful mornings back home.”
McDavid: We are putting our country through it. A lot of stressful mornings for everyone back home. But you know what? It has been fun. It is a best-on-best tournament. We are playing the best teams in the world. The best players in the world are going at it and giving everything they have. The margins are razor-thin. You’ve seen that all the way through.
McDavid on wearing the ‘C’ in Crosby’s absence:
McDavid: Hopefully, I am just borrowing it and keeping the seat warm for him. It is a special thing to represent your country. To wear a C for a group like this means everything to me.
Marchand on a second straight comeback win: “We felt like it was going to come just based on how we played”
Marchand: We kind of took over after the five-minute mark of the second period. Yeah, they scored a goal off a bounce on the PK, but we played a good game. We felt like it was going to come just based on how we played.
[Czechia] really did a great job of not giving us a whole lot last game. We didn’t really feel like we had a ton against [Czechia]. We looked at it and saw where we made mistakes, and how high the intensity is going to get from that point forward. That team elevated the play of the tournament, and we had to catch up. It felt like we did.
You saw it raised tonight. It will rise again in the next game.
Marchand on Crosby’s presence behind the scenes in the room during the game:
Marchand: He is so bright. He is such a presence for our group. He’s so smart with the way he sees the game. He was definitely giving us pointers in between each period — the things he saw from the outside that can help our game.
h/t Mark Masters, Ryan Rishaug & Kyle Bukauskas
