‘I never even questioned it’: Cale Makar confident about Canada’s play despite semifinal scare
While the rest of the country was on pins and needles, the Canadian men’s team was as calm as a cucumber, according to one member of their team.
When speaking to the media after the team’s come-from-behind win over Finland in the semifinals of the Winter Olympics, Canada defenseman Cale Makar stated that he had full faith in his team to rally back from a 2-0 deficit.
“I’ve never even questioned it,: Makar said. “You’re just so in the moment, and you trust all those guys to do their job out there. And as long as you do your job, everybody’s gonna find a way. So just happy we got it done.”
It marked the second straight game that Canada had to come back to stay alive in the tournament. The team needed a late goal from Nick Suzuki to force overtime against Czechia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, before Mitch Marner scored the winner in the extra frame.
Makar noted that experience helped prepare the Canadians for an even tougher game with a spot in the gold medal game on the line.
“It’s a feel-out process. The [Czech game was the] first time we had adversity as this team and then the amount of confidence that you get when you go through something like that as a group is immense.”
It looked like a two-goal deficit was a mountain for Canada to come back from on Friday. Without captain Sidney Crosby once again, the team seemed like it was missing something for stretches during the first half of the game. Yet, goals from Sam Reinhart and Shea Theodore tied the game at two, with Nathan MacKinnon scoring the winner in the final minute to send the team to victory.
Makar praised Finland’s effort in the semifinal, citing their defensive play that made things tough for Canada earlier in the contest.
“They played a great game. Give them credit,” Makar said. “They found ways to clog it out and get pucks out of our top guy’s hands. Once we started opening things up, it started with our skating, retrieving pucks and joining in on the rush, as well. All the little things that make a difference in games like this, it just amplified that much more on this journey we’re on.”
Canada is back in the men’s gold medal game at the Olympics for the first time since winning it all in 2014, the last time NHL players were allowed to participate. Puck drop for the final is set for 8:10 a.m. ET on Sunday.