Most Boston Bruins fans living south of the border are thrilled that Team Canada became snake bitten at the worst possible time for their country. The Canadians outplayed Team USA for much of the gold medal matchup on Sunday morning, but they couldn't get the puck past Connor Hellebuyck when it mattered most.
Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews, Connor McDavid, and Macklin Celebrini all had Grade A chances to finish the game in regulation before Jack Hughes could have the chance to score the overtime winner. Call it bad luck, call it poor finishing, call it nervousness. Call it whatever you want, Canada's best players couldn't score the crucial goal.
So, Canada needed a player in their bottom six who has a ton of good luck, has one of the best finishing shots in the world, and doesn't seem fazed by much that happens around him in a hockey game. While the absence of Bruins forward Morgan Geekie made sense from a roster construction standpoint for Canada, they sure could've used him on Sunday morning.
Geekie is on pace for 46 goals this season, powered by a shot that would rival anyone's in the league and a shooting percentage of 24.8%. Even though regression is always on the table throughout the season, there aren't many players I'd trust more than Geekie over the last year to be one-on-one with a goaltender.
Canada opted to fill its roster mostly with program veterans and returnees from the 4 Nations Face-Off. Nick Suzuki, Bo Horvat, Tom Wilson, and Celebrini were the only forwards on this year's team that weren't on the 4 Nations Face-Off roster. However, you weren't keeping Celebrini off the roster, Wilson was there for an element that Geekie doesn't bring, and Horvat and Suzuki filled in well as centers.
If Canada picks their roster again after the tournament, there might be some changes, but Geekie's name likely still doesn't come up. It's unfortunate, but the Bruins' sniper was fighting a losing battle in his quest to wear the red and white, which he knew going into the season.
While Geekie may not have been on Canada's radar, it's hard not to watch the game on Sunday and see a scenario where he could've buried a puck past Hellebuyck if given one good opportunity.