MILAN — Nick Suzuki tied it on a deflection with 3:27 left, Mitch Marner scored in overtime and Canada avoided what would have been a stunning quarterfinal exit at the Olympics by rallying to beat Czechia 4-3 on Wednesday.
Canada fell behind with 7:42 remaining when Ondrej Palat scored on an odd-man rush off a pass from Martin Necas. The goal sent the Czech bench and fans into a wild celebration, but it was short-lived.
Suzuki just about did it all on the tying goal, sending the puck out to the point to Devon Toews and then redirecting the defenseman’s shot past Lukas Dostal. Jordan Binnington denied David Pastrnak on a breakaway with 70 seconds left to send the game past regulation.
Sidney Crosby to injury five minutes into the second period. Crosby’s right leg appeared to buckle bracing for contact from rugged Czechia defenseman Radko Gudas, and he left the ice after getting crunched seconds later against the boards by Gudas and Necas.
Dalibor Dvorsky turned in another brilliant performance with a goal and an assist, fellow NHL forward Pavol Regenda scored twice as part of his three-point game and Slovakia dominated Germany 6-2 on Wednesday to reach the semifinals and guarantee playing for a medal in Milan.
«Amazing,» said alternate captain Erik Cernak, a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Tampa Bay Lightning. «Before the tournament, if we would say we’re going to make semifinals, probably people would laugh at you. But we did it, and it’s not done yet.»
Slovakia got an injury scare in the second period when 21-year-old Juraj Slafkovsky, the reigning Olympic MVP, went head-first into the boards and was slow to get up. A trainer applied an ice pack to the back of Slafkovsky’s neck, and he held it on himself when he got up to celebrate a goal scored while he was getting medical attention.
«I’m OK,» said Slafkovsky, who plays for the Montreal Canadiens. «I was a little shaken up, but after a couple minutes I felt OK again. I went out there, and head wasn’t spinning. I was seeing normal.»
Slafkovsky was held off the scoresheet until assisting on captain Tomas Tatar’s empty-net goal with 3:27 left, and he was thrilled to see his teammates fill the net instead.
«We were saying, ‘It doesn’t matter who’s going to score,'» Slafkovsky said. «We just need that one extra goal.»
Added defenseman Martin Fehervary: «I don’t think it does matter if Slafko has some points. He can do some other work for us, and we have plenty of players who can score, as well.»
Dvorsky, who plays for the St. Louis Blues, and Regenda, who split time between the San Jose Sharks and their American Hockey League affiliate this season, led the way offensively. Dvorsky made the initial pass that led to Milos Kelemen’s goal and had a terrific individual effort to spring himself for his third goal at the Olympics.
At the other end of the rink, Minnesota Wild goaltending prospect Samuel Hlavaj did his job, making 25 saves and allowing only goals to Lukas Reichel, off a feed from Leon Draisaitl, and to Frederik Tiffels on the power play.
Four years ago, Slovakia won the bronze medal — the country’s first hockey medal of any color at the Olympics — behind Slafkovsky’s seven goals.
«We just have to keep working, and whatever opening comes next, we’re going to be ready for whoever,» Regenda said. «We have to be as a team as we are. We have great guys, and we have to stick as a team.»
