Brad Marchand comes to the defense of Canada Olympic teammate Nick Suzuki
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Austin Sabourin
Feb 19, 2026 (2:46 PM)
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Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Team Canada looked like they were about to get an early exit out of the Olympics, that was before a heavily criticized Montreal star saved the entire country.
The nightmare scenario was unfolding late in the third period. Czechia held a terrifying 3-2 lead after Czechia scored a controversial goal where they had 6 players on the ice, and somehow the refs never noticed.
All that came after the Canadian bench was completely gutted after Sidney Crosby left the game with an injury.
Head coach Jon Cooper aggressively scrambled his forward rotation and threw Nick Suzuki straight into the fire to replace the legendary captain as the third-line center.
The entire hockey world heavily criticized Suzuki all tournament long, claiming he looked completely lost and uncomfortable playing out of position on the wing.
Then he absolutely silenced the toxic noise.
With less than four minutes remaining, the Canadians forward froze the opposition and buried a massive, game-tying goal to drag Canada back from the dead.
Brad Marchand sticks up for Nick Suzuki
Cooper praised the clutch heroics after the final horn, stating,
"When the country needed a goal, Nick Suzuki answered the call."
But it was Florida Panthers agitator and former Bruins captain Brad Marchand who really went to war for Suzuki. The ultimate pest absolutely destroyed the critics who doubted the Canadiens captain.
"It was an elite play," Marchand fiercely told reporters. "In my eyes, no matter what the critics say, he is having an excellent tournament. He's a big-game player, he's shown it his whole career, and he showed it again yesterday."
Suzuki brings some serious depth to Team Canada, and that was shown on Wednesday during the quarterfinals game against Team Czechia.
Someone had to step up for Canada after Crosby left, and Suzuki did just that. The hope is that Crosby will be back for next game, but if not, Suzuki is gonna get put in another big role for Canada.
Will the newly promoted center actually put this broken Canadian roster on his back and lead them to a gold medal?
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