Questions remain after Team Canada earns semifinal spot

Canada escaped Wednesday's nail-biter of a quarterfinal game against Czechia with a 4-3 overtime victory to advance to the men's hockey semifinal at the 2026 Olympics in Italy. Here are our biggest takeaways.

Depth (finally) comes through

Canadian forward Nick Suzuki kept a play alive deep in Czechia's zone through sheer hard work and determination. Moments later, he laid a perfect tip on a point shot to tie the game 3-3 with under four minutes left in regulation.

Mitch Marner, another second-tier option in a stacked forward group, waltzed through all three Czech defenders 80 seconds into overtime and roofed a backhand. His epic game-winner ended an instant classic.

Both clutch sequences will live on in Olympic lore if Canada ultimately wins gold. Canada certainly wouldn't have a semifinal date with the Finns on Friday if Suzuki and Marner hadn't risen to the occasion.

Yet it's difficult to look at the totality of Wednesday's game and give two thumbs up to the performances of Suzuki, Marner, and many other Canadian forwards.

Top-liners Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, and Nathan MacKinnon carried the offense for the bulk of the game. The superstar trio combined for 16 scoring chances in all situations, whereas the other 10 forwards contributed just 10 total. The rush attack down the lineup was virtually nonexistent.

Also: Mark Stone's neutral-zone turnover led to Czechia's first goal in the first period. Suzuki rang the post on an open net in the second with the game tied 2-2. Brad Marchand, Tom Wilson, Brandon Hagel, and Sam Reinhart provided little to no value on the offensive side of the puck at any point.

The superstars are expected to lead Canada. But the gap between their contributions and the contributions from players on lines two through four can't be this wide Friday. The Finns boast a significantly deeper roster than Czechia and are more than capable of winning the minutes when McDavid's line isn't out there.

Of course, what's unique about a short tournament is that players can redeem themselves with one meaningful sequence - like Suzuki and Marner on Wednesday - and never look substandard the rest of the way.

Crosby's injury looms large

Czechia was physical from the opening puck drop, and its aggressive style delivered a massive blow to Canada. Captain and second-line center Sidney Crosby left in the second period with an apparent right leg injury after taking a hit from Radko Gudas and then a second check from both Gudas and Martin Necas.

Canada coach Jon Cooper was unable to provide a clear update on Crosby during his postgame media availability. Crosby's status for Friday is uncertain.

If he is sidelined, Cooper can slide Nathan MacKinnon down to the 2C slot or keep MacKinnon on the first line's right wing and run with an alternative. Suzuki took the 2C role after Crosby left and would be the natural fit alongside fellow two-way forwards Stone and Marner.

The ripple effects for the bottom six are arguably more intriguing.

Sam Bennett, who was scratched against Czechia, would automatically draw in if Crosby's ruled out, since Canada would be down to 13 healthy forwards. Bo Horvat could line up at third-line center and Bennett could be the 4C. That would leave Seth Jarvis (a rare bright spot among Canada's depth forwards Wednesday), Wilson, Reinhart, Marchand, and Hagel to fill out the final four winger spots.

I'd put Jarvis, Horvat, and Reinhart together on a quick third line; go with Hagel, Bennett, and Wilson as a gritty fourth trio; and then mix Marchand in as the 13th forward.

Roller-coaster ride on defense

Jordan Binnington stopped 21 of 24 shots, including 14 from the slot.

It was a classic showing for Canada's starting goalie: huge saves and helpful puck-handling mixed with juicy rebounds and close calls. The Blues netminder is Canada's ride-or-die in net, and he's finding a way to get the job done.

The blue line, on the whole, gets a passing grade, though the evaluation is more nuanced. Cale Makar, Devon Toews, and Thomas Harley have been terrific all tournament and were excellent against Czechia, playing 20-plus minutes each. Drew Doughty had his worst game in Italy but wasn't a massive net negative, while Travis Sanheim and Shea Theodore were fine.

Colton Parayko's performance was the only concerning one.

The hulking defender's puck play was a liability against the Czechs. Through four games, Parayko's shown us that he'll either skate the puck up the ice himself and dump it into the offensive zone with no real plan; rim or chip it to no one in particular; or try and fail to pass it to a specific teammate.

None of those options are super helpful to Canada's transition game.

Parayko is at his best when he's focused on eliminating the opposing attack and otherwise making simple passes to his partner. Josh Morrissey, an all-world puck-mover, is usually that safety valve, but he's been sidelined since Canada's opening game. Morrissey returning for the semis - which seems likely - would be a massive boost for a defense corps that's sorely missing a soft touch.

McDavid, Celebrini keep leveling up

The best way to sum up McDavid's Olympics: Dude's on a mission.

He's treating every shift like his last, bolting all over the ice with unparalleled speed and skill. His frenetic play is consistently causing fits for the other team. He's at 11 points in four games after adding two primary assists Wednesday.

As impressive as McDavid has been in his first Games, some version of greatness was expected from the best player in the world.

Celebrini, on the other hand, is ascending to new heights. A natural center, he was superb for a fourth straight game on the wing. The 19-year-old is hungry to make a difference with the puck and relentless without it.

He sniped a McDavid drop pass to open the scoring and bring his tournament-leading goal total to five. No biggie. He replaced Crosby on the top power-play unit. Nobody batted an eye, and he earned an assist on MacKinnon's goal. He was part of the second group of Canadian players over the boards in OT - at this point, to nobody's surprise - and made a smartly timed drop pass to Marner to set up the winner.

The teenager played 22:36 on Wednesday, second to only MacKinnon among forwards. Celebrini's proving he can be tasked with anything at any time, and he'll deliver.

John Matisz is theScore's senior NHL writer. Follow John on Twitter/X (@MatiszJohn) or contact him via email ([email protected]).