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“Super cool,” said Marner, the Maple Leafs forward. “Tried to just really enjoy that moment. The building was rocking. It was nice to have them cheering for me instead of against me.”

Marner had the whole country behind him when he picked up a drop pass from Sidney Crosby, went up ice using Erik Karlsson as a screen and beat goalie Filip Gustavsson with a wrist shot. Canada saved face after blowing a 3-1 lead in the third period.

“I was on the bench when he scored,” said Crosby, who had indeed gone for a line change after starting the play. “I just wanted to keep possession, so I knew (Marner) was behind. Everyone sees the goal that he scores, but I turned it over (earlier in the shift) and he had to do his best to defend a two-on-one. So, you know, he makes a good play to fend them off, and then does a lot of work on the winner. I was really happy to see him put that one in.”

Marner has taken his lumps from a Leafs fan base frustrated by a lack of playoff success, but Canada’s coach Jon Cooper has a lot of faith in No. 16.

“This kid oozes confidence,” said Cooper. “It was a big-time player making a big-time play in a big-time moment, and that’s why guys like him are on this team. He was fabulous.”

Tournaments like this one are built for memorable moments: Paul Henderson’s 1972 Summit Series winner, Darryl Sittler’s overtime goal in the 1976 Canada Cup, Wayne Gretzky’s pass to Mario Lemieux to win the 1987 Canada Cup, Crosby’s golden goal in the 2010 Olympics.

Marner’s goal was not quite that, but it got Canada going in a short tournament where every win matters. He acknowledged he hadn’t scored a bigger one. And for a kid who grew up idolizing Crosby, this one could be just as memorable.

“You tell 10-year-old Mitch that he scored an overtime goal assisted by Sidney Crosby, the guy he looked up to since Day 1, yeah, it’s pretty crazy,” said Marner. “It’s going to be a really cool thing to have now.”

Mario! Mario!

The tournament opener had a number of touchstone moments.

A sold-out Bell Centre was deafening when Cooper was introduced. It got louder for Crosby. Boos rained down for American and Leafs captain Auston Matthews at the ceremonial puck drop. But wow, did the crowd get going for the guy who dropped that puck: Lemieux.

“I don’t know who they love more than Mario in this area,” said Canadian forward Nathan MacKinnon. “The best French Canadian player of all time. That was amazing, ton of adrenalin and goosebumps. You’re so jacked up. That was special.”

Lemieux also read out the starting lineup in the Canadian dressing room.

“To see him come in there and read the lineup and be part of that ovation that he received,” said Crosby. “I’ve seen it lots of times in Pittsburgh. To be here in this moment on that stage and see him get a reception like that, that was pretty special — for us, for fans, for everybody involved.”

McDavid to Crosby to MacKinnon

Canadian hockey fans couldn’t have asked for a better opening goal: Connor McDavid to Crosby for a no-look pass to MacKinnon and a 1-0 lead faster than you can say “Why can’t the Leafs do this?” 

It was a gift to a generation of fans denied seeing the country’s best play together, and a reminder of what might have been had the NHL participated in the 2018 and 2022 Olympics.

“Everything came quick,” said MacKinnon. “A lot of talk about that first (power-play) unit, a lot of nerves. I’ve never played best-on-best for Team Canada, ever. So definitely a lot of adrenalin, a lot of nerves. So it was nice to get to open (the scoring) that early. Definitely settled me in. Really great play by Connor and Sid.”

Double the overtime

Brad Marchand, that rascally Boston Bruin, also earned cheers when he scored Canada’s second goal. Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights gave Canada a 3-1 lead that Sweden whittled away to  set up an overtime that’s unique to this tournament: 10 minutes. There were plenty of chances; MacKinnon had four. It seemed a tad more exciting than the NHL’s five minutes of three-on-three, but MacKinnon, for one, doesn’t want 10 minutes to be a regular thing.

“We were actually just talking about that in the room, maybe seven (minutes),” said MacKinnon. “I usually feel better than I do right now ... I was happy when Marner scored (at 6:06 of OT) because I didn’t have much left to give.”