It was going to be so easy.
The hockey world waited nine years for best-on-best hockey to return and, when it did, the Canadian squad that had won three consecutive big-boy international tournaments came out and scored 56 seconds into the 4 Nations Face-Off to get the jump on Sweden.
If it already felt like Canada would roll to victory — when Nathan MacKinnon popped a power-play goal assisted by fellow megastars Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid — it seemed like it might be a complete laugher when the Canadians went up 2-0 just over 13 minutes into the first period before Sweden had even registered a shot on goal.
But the “Tre Kronor” had other ideas.
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Sweden erased a pair of two-goal deficits to force overtime and caused everyone in Canada far more anxiety than most expected when their team was surging early on. Mitch Marner rescued Canada with an extra-time winner, though, providing his team with an important — if imperfect — 4-3 victory to begin the tournament.
Let’s grade each Canadian player’s performance, giving a little grace to the defencemen who all had to scramble a bit when blue-liner Shea Theodore went down with a tournament-ending injury.
Sidney Crosby: 9/10
Crosby, named player of the game, collected three primary assists, including on the winning goal by Mitch Marner in OT. His blind, backhand feed to Nathan MacKinnon on the game-opening goal was a thing of beauty and he did great work protecting the puck before pivoting and finding a streaking Mark Stone for Canada’s second marker. “The Kid” still has it.
Nathan MacKinnon: 8.5/10
MacKinnon drew a penalty 44 seconds into the game, scored on the ensuing power play and was flying all night. Before Marner tallied, he had multiple dashes in overtime where it appeared he might win it. He had a team-high six shots on goal, three more than anybody else wearing red.
Mark Stone: 7.5/10
Stone was placed on a line with MacKinnon and Crosby for his smarts. He made no mistake on the second-period feed from Crosby that put Canada up 3-1.
Connor McDavid: 8/10
Though he didn’t register a point beyond the second assist on MacKinnon’s power-play tally, McDavid still looked a half-step quicker than everyone on the ice — even at a best-on-best tourney. McDavid also won 12 of the 14 face-offs he took and played more (21:26) than any Canadian forward.
Mitch Marner: 8/10
When you score the winning goal, it’s a good night. Marner also made a couple of nice dishes in the first period; one that sprung Devon Toews for a partial break and another that gave McDavid a good look from in close. His moment, though, was taking Crosby’s drop pass at centre ice, swooping in over the blue line and beating Filip Gustavsson to the stick side from the top of the circle.
Sam Reinhart: 7/10
On a team loaded with talent, Sam Reinhart is one of the most defensively conscious forwards. He made a wonderful play to break up a two-on-one in front of Jordan Binnington by intercepting a Jesper Bratt pass that was bound for Mattias Ekholm’s stick on the lip of the crease.
Brayden Point: 6.5/10
Point made a nice dish through Swedish defender Jonas Brodin to Brad Marchand for the goal that put Canada up 2-0 in the first period.
Brad Marchand: 7/10
Marchand, the second-oldest player on Team Canada after Crosby, netted a goal and was the first person to get in Erik Karlsson’s face when the Swede put a puck toward the Canadian goal after the siren had sounded to end the opening period.
Seth Jarvis: 6.5/10
Jarvis drew an assist on Marchand’s tally, making a nice little dish to Point to start the two-on-one Marchand finished.
Anthony Cirelli: 6/10
Cirelli lost the draw that ultimately led to Joel Eriksson Ek’s game-tying goal 8:59 into the third period and struggled at the dot overall, winning just three of his eight face-offs. That said, he and Brandon Hagel did some good work killing off a late penalty to Josh Morrissey when a Swedish goal could have meant a regulation-time loss for Canada.
Travis Konecny: 6/10
Konecny played less (10:20) than any other Canadian forward but made an impression with a board-rattling hit on Ekholm early in the second period.
Brandon Hagel: 6/10
Hagel did what he could in a limited role, leading Canada with five hits on the night.
Cale Makar: 8/10
Makar played more than anybody else in the game at 28:06. He was his usual creative self and had a great stick-check on William Nylander when the latter was looking to tie the game up 2-2 with a shot from in close.
Devon Toews: 7.5/10
This game could have ended in regulation time had Toews buried on an incredible look from in close on a quick dish from McDavid late in the third. Toews got good wood on the shot, but Gustavsson simply robbed him with an incredible blocker save. Toews tied his playing partner, Makar, for the most shot attempts on net by a Canadian with seven.
Josh Morrissey 6/10
Morrissey was a reliable defenceman for Canada, but he had to be sweating it out in the box after he was whistled for a careless high-sticking penalty with just over seven minutes to go in the third period of a 3-3 game. Luckily for Morrissey, his teammates bailed him out.
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Colton Parayko 6.5/10
Parayko didn’t get a point on the play, but he got Canada rolling on Marchand’s goal by sweeping the puck up the ice after a Swedish turnover and getting his team on the attack.
Drew Doughty 5.5/10
Doughty saw the fewest minutes of the five defencemen who played the entire game and was nudged off the puck on the play that led to Sweden’s first goal halfway through the contest.
Shea Theodore Incomplete
Theodore was pinned against the boards early in the second by Adrian Kempe and didn’t take another shift. It appeared he injured his right hand or wrist. With him now done for the rest of the tournament, Travis Sanheim will draw into the lineup.
Jordan Binnington 7/10
This is a Rorschach Test for how you feel about Canada’s goalies. If you were down on Binnington to begin with, you think he should have had both of the first two Swedish goals. If you’re more of a believer, you point to the fact that Binnington had no chance on the third marker and came up with at least two game-saving stops in overtime to buy Marner enough time to win this one for Canada.
