Nick Suzuki delivered one of the defining moments of Canada’s Olympic campaign, rescuing the tournament favorites from a stunning quarterfinal exit with a late equalizer in a dramatic 4–3 overtime win over Czechia. The Montreal Canadiens captain tipped home a Devon Toews point shot with 3:27 remaining in regulation, tying the game at 3–3.
Afterwards, Suzuki revealed his immediate reaction to scoring, claiming that he almost blacked out post the shot.
“I kind of blacked out. All of a sudden, I was going through the door,” Suzuki said, before nearly falling into the television camera person. “The camera guy was there just doing his job and luckily I didn’t fall down,” Suzuki said per a post on X by CBC Olympics.
Mitch Marner eventually sealed the victory 1:22 into the 3-on-3 overtime period. Suzuki had endured a quiet tournament stretch and even missed an open net earlier in the second period.
However, he eventually took control with a decisive late-game shift and led several of Team Canada’s attacks.
The win came after considerable obstacles. Sidney Crosby exited in the second period with a lower-body injury, leaving Canada trailing 2–1 and snapping the nation’s remarkable Olympic stretch of 805:01 without playing from behind. However, Canada eventually rallied back and then completed a remarkable comeback.
Suzuki’s equalizer marked his second goal in four Olympic games, emerging as a complementary scorer within a lineup headlined by Connor McDavid, Crosby, and Nathan MacKinnon.
Team Canada will now take on Team Finland in the semifinals, with a win potentially setting up a high-octane finals against the winners of the semis between Team USA and Team Slovakia.
Regardless, Suzuki will be well aware that there is plenty more to come yet, and will be determined to help his team to the gold medal. He has already produced a memorable moment and will only need to continue in the same vein.
