In win over Finland, Travis Sanheim showed why he deserves to be on Team Canada

Once again, we were treated to a nailbiter of a game, courtesy of Team Canada. While today's victory over Team Finland didn't have quite the same heroic comeback or rush of 3-on-3 overtime that the win over Team Czechia had earlier in the week, there were still some adrenaline boosting moments. One of those moments--the game-tying goal--came at the hands of a Philadelphia Flyer: Travis Sanheim.

The Canadians were down 2-1 about halfway through the third period, as Finnish goaltender Juuse Saros put on a show to keep Canada off the board. Saros would finish the game with 36 saves on 39 shots, good for a .923 save percentage. At 10:26 in the third, the Canadians tied the game on a blistering shot from Shea Theodore at the point, and Canada would not trail for the remainder of the game, taking a 3-2 lead with 36 seconds remaining off a goal from Nathan MacKinnon.

The game-tying goal from Theodore featured a primary assist from Sanheim, who found the puck in the slot and got it back to the point with a nifty pass. It was Sanheim's first and only point (so far) in the Olympics--and to think, he may never have gotten the chance to play if Josh Morrissey hadn't been injured in the first game of the preliminary round.

When Sanheim was first named to the Canadian roster, it was met with some confusion. What about rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer? Or the Edmonton Oilers' Evan Bouchard, who's been putting up tons of power play points with temporary Canadian captain Connor McDavid? Or Jakob Chychrun, who's driving the Washington Capitals' offense from the backend? Sure, Sanheim was decent in the Four Nations tournament, but this is the Olympics, and while he's been good with the Flyers, Sanheim isn't often thought of as a top defenseman in the NHL, let alone Canada.

Well, hopefully today he was able to prove some of the doubters wrong. Even before the assist, Sanheim set up a couple of great chances in the first period that his teammates weren't able to finish. He may not have been the sexiest inclusion on the Canadian roster, but he demonstrated his value today.

All that's left to do is for him to win gold on Sunday.