Canada will play for Olympic gold.
Nathan MacKinnon scored the winner with 35 seconds left as Canada came from behind to edge Finland 3-2 in men’s hockey semifinal action Wednesday at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Sam Reinhart and Shea Theodore also scored for Canada, with Connor McDavid adding two assists. Jordan Binnington earned the win in goal, making 15 saves.
Mikko Rantanen and Erik Haula scored for Finland, with goalie Juuse Saros playing well in defeat, stopping 36 shots.
Finland opened the scoring on the power play at 16:55 of the opening period. With Canada’s Sam Bennett off for goaltender interference after running into Saros, Finland’s Sebastian Aho won an offensive zone faceoff back to Rantanen, who fired a shot pass Binnington.
Shot on goal were eight apiece in the first period.
In the second, Finland took a 2-0 lead when Haula broke free for a shorthanded chance and slipped a backhand past Binnington.
Canada began to carry the play and pulled one back at 5:40, when Reinhart tipped home a Cale Makar point shot on the power play for his first goal of the tourney. Connor McDavid, filling in as Canadian captain for the injured Sidney Crosby, also assisted on Reinhart’s goal. It was his 12th point of the tourney, a new Olympic record for an NHL player.
On the board on the power play!
On s’inscrit au tableau en avantage numérique!
#MilanoCortina2026pic.twitter.com/LojflAxN7L
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) February 20, 2026
Canada held a 22-11 shots advantage after 40 minutes.
Theodore pulled Canada even at 2-2 with 9:26 to go in the period, rifling a shot from the right point past Saros, who had been bumped after a scramble in front. It was also Theodore’s first goal of the Games.
With 2:35 to go in the period, Canada went on the power play after Niko Mikkola high-sticked MacKinnon.
MacKinnon then netted the winner himself with 35.2 seconds left, firing a one-timer short-side on Saros as the penalty time expired. Finland challenged that the play was offside (well before the goal was scored) but the challenge failed and Finland was penalized for delay of game and Canada ran out the clock.
NATHAN MACKINNON WITH 35.2 SECONDS LEFT!
NATHAN MACKINNON AVEC 35,2 SECONDES À JOUER!
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) February 20, 2026
The U.S. beat Slovakia 6-2 in the other semifinal contest Friday. The gold-medal game goes Sunday (5:10 a.m. PST).
NOTES: McDavid has multiple points in all five Canadian games so far… Crosby has not yet been ruled out for the gold-medal contest… Canada’s Josh Morrissey sat out again and hasn’t played since getting injured in the Olympic opener… The Canadians and Finns have been frequent foes at the Olympic Winter Games, meeting 13 times since 1952 — Canada holds an 8-5 advantage and has won four of the last five.