One of the top defencemen in the world continued to prove his prestige in the men’s Olympic hockey gold-medal game.
As the Canadians put some heavy pressure on the U.S. through the second period, all-world blue liner Cale Makar put away the shot that brought Canada even, netting his second goal of the tournament and bringing a country to its feet late in the frame.
Down 1-0 after an early score from Matt Boldy, Canada peppered American goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with shots, but breaking through continued to be tough against the best netminder in the tournament.
A 5-on-3 power play gave the Canadians a prime opportunity, but Hellebuyck continued to stonewall the team, turning away two prime opportunities from Macklin Celebrini short side.
But with less than two minutes left in a dominant second period for Canada, Makar finally broke through.
Bo Horvat won a key draw in the o-zone, the puck found its way to Devon Toews — Makar’s blue-line partner with the Colorado Avalanche — and Makar found open ice by the right face-off circle before wiring home a gorgeous wrister just below Hellebuyck’s blocker.
While Toews was the only player to earn an assist on the goal, the short-side shots from Canada earlier in the showdown may have played a role, as Makar picked Hellebuyck’s other side and finally found the back of the net.
Makar, Canada’s alternate captain, has had a solid tournament, picking up five points (one goal, four assists) in five games, but perhaps hasn’t played to the offensive level that’s expected of the two-time Norris Trophy winner.
He found his spark at just the right time for Canada, it seems.
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