Macklin Celebrini and Sidney Crosby powered Canada’s comeback on Tuesday as the team finished its preliminary round at the World Hockey Championship with a 3-2 win over the Czech Republic.
Celebrini scored twice, both times finishing superb passes from Crosby, while John Tavares netted the decisive goal for Canada, which wrapped up the preliminary stage with a 6-1-0-0 record. Marek Alscher and Dominik Kubalik had given the Czechs a 2-0 lead earlier in the game, putting Canada in an early deficit before the offense found its rhythm.
The result secured Canada’s place at the top of its group and came after the team learned it would face the United States in the quarterfinals on Thursday.
Canada opened the game slowly and struggled to generate momentum in the first period. Alscher scored after just over six minutes, taking a strong feed from Lukas Sedlak across the slot and beating the Canadian goaltender with a sharp wrist shot. Later in the second period, Canada’s defense was caught again, and Kubalik made it 2-0 from the slot on a one-timer that beat Jet Greaves.
Needing a spark, Canada turned to its most experienced and dynamic players. With less than six minutes left in the second period, Crosby showed his playmaking ability by setting up Celebrini for Canada’s first goal from the high slot. That goal shifted the energy of the game and helped Canada regain control.
The same duo struck again in the third period. With a little under 13 minutes remaining, Crosby delivered another precise pass to Celebrini in the slot, and the young forward redirected the puck into an open net to tie the game 2-2.
Moments later, Tavares gave Canada the lead for good. Showing patience in front of the net, he forced Czech goaltender Dominik Pavlat to commit, then slipped the puck past him on a backhand to make it 3-2.
Canada appeared to add an insurance goal late when Dylan Cozens scored into an empty net off a Crosby pass, but the play was overturned because of offside. Even so, Canada held firm in the closing seconds to secure the comeback victory.
The win highlighted the chemistry between Crosby and Celebrini, with the veteran star repeatedly finding the rookie in dangerous areas. It also reinforced Canada’s ability to recover from a poor start and respond under pressure as it heads into knockout play.
With the group stage complete and a quarterfinal matchup against the United States now set, Canada enters the next round with momentum after closing out a challenging preliminary schedule in dramatic fashion.
