Macklin Celebrini scores Canada's first goal, and the kid doesn't back down against the Czech players

Canada leads 1-0 after twenty minutes in Milan, and they waited until the absolute last second to make it count.

Literally.

With six seconds left on the clock, everyone was already thinking about the intermission speech. Not Macklin Celebrini. The kid took a feed from Connor McDavid and Cale Makar—talk about a luxury line—and buried the opener at 19:54.

That’s a backbreaker for Czechia.

Lukas Dostal stood on his head for 19 minutes. He matched Jordan Binnington save for save. Both teams put 11 shots on the board. The ice was tilted, then leveled, then tilted again.

But the story isn’t just the goal. It’s the edge.

Earlier in the frame, Celebrini got into it with Michal Kempny. He didn’t back down. He didn’t look at the ref for help. He got his nose dirty.

That’s what you want to see in a tournament like this. You expect the skill. You don’t always get the snarl.

Binnington looks locked in, which is the only version of Binnington you can survive with. He’s tracking pucks through traffic and hasn’t given up a rebound yet.

Nick Suzuki taking a tripping penalty early wasn’t ideal, but the kill looked organized. They suffocated the Czech entries.

This isn’t a blowout. 11-11 on the shot clock says it all. Czechia is heavy, they’re clogging the neutral zone, and they’re making Canada earn every inch of ice.

But Canada has the 1-0 lead. And they have the momentum.

The second period is going to be a war. If Canada thinks they can coast on that late goal, they’re going to get burned.

Drop the puck.