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.”