(Prague) Captain John Tavares scored 15 seconds into overtime to save his teammates from an embarrassing defeat against Austria, ultimately defeated 7-6 at the World Hockey Championship.
Tavares quickly put an end to the debate, seizing the disc in the neutral zone before entering the Austrian zone and unleashing a shot that beat David Madlener.
It’s a safe bet that no one on the Canadian bench believed such a burst of brilliance was necessary after 40 minutes of play, with the defending champions leading 6-1. But Austria exploded with five goals in the third.
Marco Rossi scored the tying goal with 49 seconds left in the third. Austria then removed Madlener to take advantage of an additional skater.
If Austria had scored in overtime, they would have achieved the most important comeback in World Cup history and scored their first victory against Canada in this tournament.
Canada entered this game with a 10-0-1 record with a 68-7 goal differential against Austria. Their last duel also took place in Prague, at the 2015 World Cup, when Canada won 10-1.
Connor Bedard scored his fifth goal of the tournament for the winners. Canada has eight points from three games and is tied for first place in Group A with Switzerland.
Tavares, Pierre-Luc Dubois and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Kaiden Guhle all scored a goal and added an assist. Dylan Cozens, Bowen Byram and Jared McCann also scored for Canada. Jordan Binnington struggled in net, allowing five goals on nine shots in the third, for six in 21 total.
Peter Schneider scored twice and added an assist for Austria. Dominic Zwerger also had three points, scoring once. Benjamin Nissner and Benjamin Baumgartner scored the other goals. Madlener stopped 42 shots.
Canada will face Norway on Thursday.