San Jose Sharks center Macklin Celebrini hasn’t backed down as the stakes kept getting raised at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in recent days.

Now, thanks to another thrilling, come-from-behind performance, Celebrini and his Canadian teammates are going to be on the biggest international stage of them all: the Olympic gold medal game.

Celebrini assisted on Nathan MacKinnon’s go-ahead power play goal with 35.2 seconds left in the third period as Canada earned a 3-2, come-from-behind win over a stingy Finland team on Friday in the semifinals of men’s Olympic hockey tournament in Milan.

Celebrini and Team Canada will now play the winner of Friday’s other semifinal between the United States and Slovakia in the gold medal game on Sunday at 5:10 a.m. (PST). Sharks winger Pavol Regenda has four points for Slovakia in the tournament.

On Canada’s winning goal Friday, Celebrini retrieved the puck below the goal line to the right of the Finnish net before he sent a pass out to Connor McDavid. The Edmonton Oilers captain, and Canada’s captain for Friday’s game, then found MacKinnon with a seam pass through the slot, and the Colorado Avalanche center beat Finnish goalie Juuse Saros on the short side with just two seconds left on the power play.

“It was a five-man effort,” MacKinnon said. “Connor made an amazing play. … Obviously happy one squeaked in.”

“Clutch,” Celebrini said of MacKinnon’s goal. “That goal, we needed it so bad. We had a couple looks there. You count on your big dogs and one of the best players in the world to bury it.”

NATHAN MACKINNON IN THE FINAL MINUTE. CANADA HAVE PULLED OFF THE COMEBACK. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/3jMB2EWWfU

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 20, 2026

The goal was reviewed, with Finland challenging that Celebrini entered the offensive zone before the puck completely crossed the blue line. But after a harrowing minute or two, officials determined that Celebrini was still onside — by the slimmest of margins — and the on-ice call of a good goal was confirmed.

The assist gave Celebrini, the youngest NHL player in the Olympics at 19, five goals and five assists for the Olympics. He also had three points in Canada’s 4-3 comeback win in overtime over Czechia on Wednesday and in five games, is the tournament’s second leading scorer with 10 points, three fewer than McDavid.

Celebrini on Friday also led Canada in ice time (25:53) and a staggering eight shots on net. Finland had a combined nine shots on net in the second and third periods.

“I’ve seen him play enough for a while,” Canadian winger Mitch Marner said of Celebrini. “He’s got a lot of skill and a lot of confidence. He’s not afraid of the big moments.”

Celebrini and his Canadian teammates didn’t panic early in the second period when forward Erik Haula scored a shorthanded goal 3:26 into the second period to give Finland a 2-0 lead.

“Just confidence,” Celebrini said when asked about Team Canada’s mood. “I felt like we’re getting a lot of chances and we’re doing all the right things, and that it was just a matter of time.”

Canada got one goal back on its next power play, as a shot from the point by defenseman Cale Makar was tipped by winger Sam Reinhart past Saros with 5:40 left in the second period, cutting Finland’s lead to 2-1. Through two periods, Celebrini not only led Canada with six shots on net, but also in ice time (16:54).

 

Canada then tied the game 2-2 on Shea Theodore’s goal with 9:26 left in the third period, as the Vegas Golden Knights defenseman’s shot from just inside the blue line got past Saros.

Celebrini had two shots of Canada’s eight shots in the first period when he had 7:51 of ice time. He was once again on the top line alongside McDavid, as he’s been all tournament, as Canada advanced to the semifinal with four straight wins.

Celebrini entered Friday with a tournament-leading five goals, becoming just the fourth player to score in four straight Olympic games featuring NHL players.

“We were getting chances, we were getting looks. It just wasn’t going in,” Celebrini said of the comeback. “So I thought we had a lot of confidence.”

McDavid was Canada’s captain for the game in place of Sidney Crosby, who sustained a lower body injury in the quarterfinals. Crosby is considered questionable to play Sunday.

“We’re a deep team with leaders all up and down the lineup,” McDavid said. “It doesn’t matter who’s wearing the ‘C,’ who’s in the lineup, who’s out of the lineup. Everybody can play a big role and lead, and you saw that again.”