Connor McDavid Reveals Coach Jon Cooper’s Last-Minute Change That Led to Canada’s 4 Nations Win.
Boston: TD Garden erupted in a loud howl as Connor McDavid’s smooth shot went straight into the net and the North American rivals won over the USA yet again. O Canada played in the background as the American ice hockey fans left the Garden and their Northern neighbors celebrated their miraculous victory in a nail-biting overtime war. And of course, kudos to Jon Cooper’s adaptive strategy!
Offense leads the game, but defense helps it win. But defense is a mere catalyst, and offense will always play tricks. Something similar was the case as the offensive firepower of Canada locked horns with the defensive clinic that is the USA. The result? A 3-2 overtime win for the Canadians. The anticipation built over nine years, the last time USA matched-up against Canada in a best-on-best international event before Saturday, gave a perfect prelude to what Canada forward Brad Marchand called, “(There’s) no bigger rivalry in hockey than Canada-USA.” But the rivalry goes far back in time.
You see, Team USA has lost all but one game against Canada. And that win was all the way back in 2010 at the inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off. Funny enough, while the Americans snatched the victory there, they could not repeat the heroics when it mattered the most; in the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. Only adding to the anticipation was the geopolitical brawl over anthems and annexation and Trump’s recent “51st US state” trash talk for “Governor” Justin Trudeau. Hence, coming into this game on their home ice, the Americans had one objective: redeem themselves. And the same pep talk was for the Canadians as HC Cooper explained: “And yeah, did we need a win? Not only our team, but Canada needed a win, and the players bared that on their shoulders.” USA’s manifestation got them in a 2-1 lead until the tail end of the second period before Sam Bennett’s goal tied the game, pushing for an overtime with an unscored third period. While Connor McDavid is the name on everyone’s lips after he scored the game-winner, for the Centre, it was all the coach’s doing.
Connor praised his coach in the postgame presser in Boston after their huge win, “Credit to Coop and his staff for, you know, for not just riding with something, you know, kind of always changing it up whenever he felt like there was something that needed changing, and yeah, our line had a bit of a tough night just didn’t work much. Just wasn’t able to generate much but they throw Mitch up there and we find a way to contribute at the end there and that’s all that matters.”
Thursday’s game did not bring out the best in the team wearing the red maple jersey as they only made 27 shots compared to USA’s 33. Their hits were also three less than their opponent’s 28. The numbers also did not side with them as they blocked just 21 shots while USA blocked 28 shots. While the game went on with fierce moves from each side, it was the nail-biting moment of a 2-2 score when the head coach decided to bring the change that was needed. And, quite effectively so.
The team’s original offensive lines pair McDavid with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. However, Cooper planned perfectly and brought McDavid with Mitch Marner and Cale Makar together. What concluded on the ice was an overtime thriller. After a flurry of blocks by Binnington early in the OT, Canada received a defensive faceoff in the US zone against McDavid with 11.50 on the clock. First, Noah Hanifin stops Connor’s shot. Then, Cale Makar makes a wraparound to Mitch Marner who assists Connor for the game winning shot as the commentators announce, “Put the puck on the stick of the best player in the game and there’s your game winner.”
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Prior to the game, Cooper had said, “Sometimes, you just have to cut your losses. Not every shift is going to be a win. Sometimes, there are ties. If you can have a whole bunch of ties and mix in a few wins without any losses, it is a pretty damn good game for you.” Consider his last-minute change. He simply reorganized the forward lines and brought the 4 Nations win to Canada. While the coach did do his magic, the man of the showdown was certainly McDavid.
At 8:18, the USA defense just broke down, leaving McDavid wide open in front of the net. And that was it. Mitch Marner took no time to observe this chance and passed the puck to Connor, who fired it past Connor Hellebuyck! As and when Cooper shouted, “Somebody please be selfish and shoot it in the net,” McDavid hit the shot. As for Connor’s splendid performance, he called him the greatest in the world. He said, “When you have leaders and players of his talent cheering as loud for the guys playing in front of him while he is not on the ice, it kind of says something about how special he is.”
Remember what J.T. Miller said as he looked forward to this game? “If you let those guys come out, with McDavid flying around to start the game and Kinnon flying around, that could become a contagious and infectious thing in that building”—the USA’s biggest fear came alive! These players did just that with their unbeatable speed and exceptional playmaking!
While the Canada failed in matching the intensity and building momentum at the beginning, as planned, Cooper’s one quick feet thinking just made it all happen. It created a formidable line that the opposition lacked, but made McDavid score his ultimate winning goal!
