Team Canada defeated Finland 3-2 in the Olympic semifinals on Friday at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena, punching its ticket to the gold medal game. Captain Connor McDavid played a key role in the victory, making history along the way while helping keep Canada’s championship hopes alive.
Connor McDavid Makes Olympic History
McDavid picked up two assists in the game. The helpers gave McDavid 13 points in the tournament, the most ever recorded by a player in the NHL era of the Olympics. He passed Teemu Selanne and Saku Koivu, who each had 11 points during Finland’s silver-medal run at the 2006 Turin Games.
12 points for Connor McDavid! This is the most point by a player in the NHL era of the Olympics!
What’s next? In the last 60 years, the highest numbers of points is 16 by Valeri Kharlamov (1972) and Anatoly Firsov (1968)
— Jean-Francois C. (@JeanFrancoisCBA) February 20, 2026
Looking ahead, the all-time Olympic single-tournament record over the past 60 years is 16 points, shared by Valeri Kharlamov (1972) and Anatoly Firsov (1968). With just one game left, and a gold medal showdown ahead for Canada, McDavid now has a legitimate shot at chasing that record.
McDavid is the captain for this matchup, with Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon as alternates. Regular captain Sidney Crosby is out after suffering an injury in the previous game against Czechia on a hit from Radko Gudas.
Canada came into the tournament as heavy favorites, but Finland made them earn every bit of it. Mikko Rantanen opened the scoring just three seconds into a power play in the first period with the help of McDavid. The Finns extended their lead in the second when Erik Haula scored short-handed on a breakaway before Reinhart’s goal, set up by McDavid, brought Canada back within one.
Shea Theodore pulled Canada even at 2-2 midway through the third period, scoring at 10:34 to set up a dramatic finish. Then, with just 35.2 seconds left in regulation, Nathan MacKinnon buried the game-winner to secure a 3-2 victory and send Canada to the gold medal game, marking its third straight Olympic final in tournaments featuring NHL players.
“We’re putting our country through it,” McDavid said. “Lot of stressful mornings back home. The margins are razor-thin. You’ve seen that all the way through… We understood we were in a tough spot, and we had to find a way to get out of it. We did it. Credit to us. We can’t put ourselves in that spot again.
Top-seeded Canada will now face No. 2 seed Team USA on Sunday at 8:10 a.m. ET. The Americans advanced after defeating Slovakia 6-2 in Friday’s other semifinal.
