Czechia ‘played with our heart’ in near upset of Canada at Olympics
Team Canada had won 13 consecutive games in Olympic tournaments involving NHL players, including seven in single elimination. Was the streak about to end?
No.
Nick Suzuki tied the game 3-3 with 3:27 to go in the third, reaching out to the right with his stick blade and deflecting a shot by Devon Toews. The puck dropped and slipped between the pads of goalie Lukas Dostal.
The Czechs still had a chance. Necas took off on a breakaway, but Binnington stopped him with his right pad with about 1:10 left.
“I was kind of tired, and they’re chasing me,” Necas said. “I tried to go backhand five-hole and kind of missed the window there.”
The game went to 3-on-3 overtime, and Mitch Marner ended it at 1:22 with a beautiful backhand.
Several Czechs buried their heads in their gloves on the bench.
“I mean, we were four minutes away from beating [an] unbelievable team and [going] further,” Palat said. “We didn’t. They scored, and then we couldn’t hold onto the lead. Too bad, but I’m proud of the team, how we battled against a really good team.”
So close.
“When we look back in a couple of days, I’m going to feel proud of the boys,” Dostal said. “Even now, I feel very proud. It’s a mix of emotions, because you feel sad but proud at the same time. Yeah, it hurts. It’s probably going to hurt for a long time, but I’m proud of our group, what we did here.”
