McDavid took a hard hit from McAvoy a few minutes later that seemed to spark the Stars & Stripes, who began shifting the momentum and tied the game off forward Jake Guentzel’s shot along the ice that went five-hole on Jordan Binnington at 10:15 of the frame.
“I can’t sit here and say [Binnington] was fighting it,” Cooper said. “Jake Guentzel plays for me and Binnington knew it was coming. I knew it was coming. I’ve seen that goal a thousand times, and Jake still finds a way to score those goals. Pucks have eyes for some players. It has eyes for him. Of course, any goaltender wants to have them all back, but I think he’s been a little hard on himself to be honest.”
Both nations killed off penalties and were tied heading into the second period, where the United States looked the better team and took the lead with 6:27 left in the stanza after Sidney Crosby’s giveaway in Canada’s zone resulted in Dylan Larkin firing far side against Binnington on an odd-man rush.
“Both sides had their chances. I thought we traded momentum throughout the game and that that’s how I felt,” Crosby said. “Obviously, it’s a game of mistakes, and I turn one over there and it ends up in the back of the net. It’s as quick as that. Just little plays here and there.
McDavid was 7-for-13 on draws on Saturday night, but was 4-for-6 in the offensive zone as he continued to be placed into a leading role for Canada in their search for an equalizer, working his ice time up to a team-high 22:44 of ice time by the time the game was over – m ore than three minutes higher than the next-closest forward and his linemate Mitch Marner.
Everything was going through No. 97 during six-on-five in the final two minutes of regulation, but it wasn’t meant to be for Canada, with Guentzel tacking on another into the empty net to seal a 3-1 victory for the United States.
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