McDavid, MacKinnon and Celebrini didn’t generate a scoring chance on their first shift, but Cooper clearly liked what he saw.
Who wouldn’t?
Cooper went to the same line again early in the second period, and, well, you know what happened.
MacKinnon set up Celebrini in the slot and the 19-year-old hammered a one-timer past Akira Schmid to give Canada a 3-1 lead.
“It’s two of the best players in the world, two legends that are in prime of their career,” Celebrini said. “It’s easy to play with them when they are buzzing.”
In the third period, they connected again.
Celebrini, just out of the penalty box, forechecked with aggression to get the puck back. He did. He got it to McDavid, who drew the attention of the Swiss, and after he put the puck on net, MacKinnon, alone, put in the rebound to put Canada up 5-1 at 13:03.
“After the goal, Connor said to ‘Mack’ right away that’s all him, that’s all forecheck,” MacKinnon said. “Take that bump, slip it into Connor like that is elite. It’s a very hard play. It’s not the flashiest play ever but that’s a hard play to make. Obviously, Connor drives the net, he’s got three guys on him and everyone forgets about me. Just a treat to play with those two.”