Nathan MacKinnon scores late winner as Canada beat Finland in Olympic semi-final

Nathan MacKinnon scored the winner with 35 seconds remaining as Canada recovered from a two-goal deficit to beat Finland 3-2 and reach the Olympic men’s ice hockey final.

The victory sets up a gold-medal showdown on Sunday, keeping hopes alive for a return to the top of the Olympic podium.

It marked the second consecutive knockout game where the North Americans were forced to rally from behind after trailing early.

Having survived an overtime scare against Czechia in the quarter-finals, Jon Cooper’s side found themselves in a 2-0 hole against a disciplined Finnish team.

Late drama seals comeback

With the score tied at 2-2 and overtime looming, the game turned on a high-sticking penalty assessed to Niko Mikkola with fewer than three minutes on the clock.

Canada’s star-studded power-play unit kept the puck in the offensive zone for nearly the entire advantage.

Connor McDavid eventually threaded a precision cross-ice pass to MacKinnon, who rifled a one-timer past goaltender Juuse Saros to seal the victory.

It was a moment of relief for Canada, who had struggled to break down the Nordic nation’s defence for much of the contest.

Reinhart fills the void

The Canadians were forced to shuffle their line-up due to the absence of captain Sidney Crosby.

Sam Reinhart was elevated to the top power-play unit in Crosby’s place and the Florida Panthers forward made a crucial impact.

After Finland had taken a shock lead through a short-handed goal from Erik Haula and another early strike, Reinhart began the recovery.

He deflected a Cale Makar shot from the point to beat Saros and halve the deficit.

Shea Theodore then levelled the contest in the third period with a powerful drive from the blue line, setting the stage for MacKinnon’s late heroics.

Despite a shaky start from goaltender Jordan Binnington, the favourites found a way to win and will now play for gold.