MacKinnon lifts Canada into gold-medal game; Maltais wins third medal in Milan

MILAN, ITALY - FEBRUARY 20: Nathan MacKinnon #29 of Team Canada celebrates scoring a goal in the third period during the Men's Semifinals Playoff match between Canada and Finland on day fourteen of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on February 20, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

A late push on the ice rink and another steady surge on the oval kept Canada busy on Day 14 of the Milan Cortina Olympics, as the men’s hockey team punched its ticket to the gold medal match while long-track speedskater Valérie Maltais claimed her third medal of the Games.

The Canadians secured their spot in the men’s hockey final after battling back from a 2-0 deficit to Finland with goals from Sam Reinhart and Shea Theodore to even the score.

Nathan MacKinnon scored the power-play winner late in the third period — but could only celebrate after a tense review of an offside challenge.

“We had a lot of good opportunities, a lot of good battles to get the puck back,” MacKinnon said. “They were a little tired, and in the second, we took over the game. Their goalie (Juuse Saros) played really well, but I thought we deserved to win.”

Canada played without captain Sidney Crosby, who was injured in Wednesday’s 4-3 overtime win over Czechia to reach the semifinal. Connor McDavid served as captain in his absence and recorded two assists, including one setting up the winner.

“Slowly but surely, we found a way. Going two down is never ideal, especially against such a team like Finland,” said McDavid, whose 13 points are a record for most points in a single Olympic tournament involving NHL players.

“It took all 40 minutes, 60 minutes, to get it done.”

Canada will face off against archrival United States for men’s hockey gold on Sunday, which will also mark the last event of the Olympics.

Meanwhile, Maltais is bringing home her third medal from Milan Cortina.

The veteran skater from La Baie, Que., finished third in the women’s 1,500 metres in a stacked field.

Maltais took the lead with a time of one minute 54.4 seconds with several pairs left to go.

She was eventually passed by gold medallist Antoinette Rijpma-de Jong of the powerhouse Dutch and Ragne Wiklund of Norway, but she clinched an unlikely spot on the podium when world record holder Miho Takagi, skating in the last pair, came apart on her final lap and finished sixth.

“It feels great,” said Maltais, who had never stepped on the podium in a World Cup 1,500 race. “It feels like a surprise. This is my first medal ever in the 1,500 metre, and to do it at the Games, at the Olympics, this is where I need to do it.”

Maltais won Canada’s first medal of the Milan Cortina Games with a bronze in the 3,000 on Day 1. She also teamed with Ivanie Blondin and Isabelle Weidemann to defend Canada’s Olympic women’s pursuit title.

Her Olympic medals in the individual events are the first of her career.

The 35-year-old will compete in Saturday’s mass start in what could be her final Olympic race.

Canada also reached the podium in men’s halfpipe freestyle skiing, where Calgary’s Brendan Mackay took bronze by scoring 91 points in his last run of the final, edging out American Nick Goepper.

“It’s kind of hard to believe. I’ve dreamed of this happening since Sochi, since it was added to the Olympics,” said Mackay. ”For it to happen is hard to believe, I’m just so incredibly proud.“

Mackay finished behind Alex Ferreira of the United States and Estonia’s Henry Sildaru, while fellow Canadians Andrew Longino and Dylan Marineau, both also of Calgary, finished seventh and 11th, respectively.

At the short-track in Milan, medals were handed out in the men’s 5,000-metre relay, but it wasn’t meant to be for Canada as the team finished fourth in the final race.

The Canadian short-track speedskating team of William Dandjinou, Steven Dubois, Félix Roussel and Maxime Laoun had minor issues with slips and transfers, finishing in six minutes and 52.425 seconds.

The race was won by the Netherlands, followed by South Korea for silver and the host Italians for bronze.

“I don’t even know what happened. I can just tell you we are disappointed with the result. Not the way we wanted to end the race,” said Dubois. “We are going to look at it again in the next few days and then prepare ourselves for the world championships.

“As far as strategies, I can’t tell you what went wrong.”

The women’s 1,500-metre event also saw Canada fall short, with no Canadian speedskaters advancing past the semifinals to the A finals for medal contention after Moncton’s Courtney Sarault fell in her race.

Sarault ultimately finishes the Games with medals in four of her five events.

“Every medal I got was another win, and today I came in not taking any of that for granted and going to fight, because in short track you have to fight for things. Everything has to go perfectly for it to work out, and today, it wasn’t perfect for me,” Sarault said.

“Bittersweet way to end my journey. But regardless, I’m proud of myself. Just felt like I didn’t get the fighting chance to try.”

In women’s curling, Rachel Homan’s Ottawa-based team lost 6-3 to Sweden in the semifinal and will face the United States for bronze on Saturday.

The game was tied 2-2 at the halfway point before Sweden scored a deuce in the sixth end and added a steal of one in the seventh.

Down by three with hammer in the 10th end, the Canadians were run out of rocks.

Sweden will face Switzerland for gold on Sunday.

Earlier, Canada was held off the Olympic podium in women’s ski cross for the first time.

Marielle Thompson of Whistler, B.C., Brittany Phelan of Mont-Tremblant, Que., and Ottawa’s Hannah Schmidt were all eliminated in the quarterfinals.

Thompson finished fourth in her race, while Schmidt and Phelan finished third and fourth in theirs.

Thompson, Canada’s co-flag-bearer for the Milan Cortina opening ceremony, won ski cross gold in 2014 and silver in 2022.

Canada had won at least one medal in the event at every previous Olympics since its debut at the 2010 Vancouver Games, when Ashleigh McIvor captured gold.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 20, 2026.