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Hockey Stars Slafkovsky and Suzuki Propel Teams Forward
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- Hockey Stars Slafkovsky and Suzuki Propel Teams Forward
Eric Bolte-Imagn Images
Both Juraj Slafkovsky and Nick Suzuki will be heading to the semifinals at the 2026 Winter Olympics, giving Montreal Canadiens fans even more reasons to keep a close eye on the important tournament.
( N.B.Due to rights issues, some highlights may not be available in your country. To view highlights in the United States, make sure to check the NBC Olympics Twitter feed )
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Slovakia Advances
The first quarterfinal of the day saw Slafkovsky and Team Slovakia beat Team Germany to the tune of 6-2. Consequently, the plucky Slovaks have punched their ticket to the semifinal.
Slafkovsky registered one assist in the game, as former Hab Tomas Tatar scored an empty-net goal to put the game out of reach for the Germans. This pushed his tournament totals to an impressive three goals and four assists in seven games, tying him for third overall in Olympic scoring, alongside Swedish forward Lucas Raymond , Swiss forward Timo Meier , and German star Leon Draisaitl .
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games semifinals will take place on Friday, though it remains to be seen which opponent the Slovaks will face in one of the most important hockey games of the country's history.
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What we do know is that they represent one of the most cohesive and well-built teams at the Olympics, which is quite a feat given that Slovakia's population is less than six million.
Canada Sneaks Through
An early goal from Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring for Team Canada, though we do have to give ample credit to Connor McDavid , as he found his young linemate after a great steal, not to mention a fantastic pass.
However, it was the Czechs who took over in the momentum department following the Celebrini marker.
Not only did Czechia respond to the goal, they established a 2-1 lead over Canada before the first intermission. It was the first time since 2010 that Canada trailed at the Olympics in a best-on-best tournament.
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Things went from bad to worse, when Sidney Crosby was forced to leave the game after taking some heavy contact via Radko Gudas .
Thankfully for Canada, they were gifted a relatively undeserved powerplay, giving them a perfect opportunity to tie the game midway through the second period. Nathan MacKinnon made no mistake, tying the game with a fantastic shot that easily fooled Czech goaltender Lukas Dostal .
Suzuki had a great chance to give Canada a lead in the dying minutes of the second frame, but the Montreal Canadiens captain hit the post, leaving the score tied heading into the second intermission.
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With the Czechs up 3-2 and just a few minutes left to play, Suzuki redeemed himself, putting together one of the best shifts from a Canadian player throughout the entire Olympic tournament.
He kept the puck alive in the offensive zone by outworking his defenders, and then made his way to the front of the net, where he defected a point shot to tie the game for a very nervous Canadian team.
(To view this highlight in the United States, please click on this link )
Do Or Die
With the game on the line, former Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner decided to score the biggest goal of his career, beating all three Czech players on the ice before putting a perfect backhand shot past Dostal to secure the 4-3 win.
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