Canada’s Rat Line much more than one-dimensional agitators

MILAN — There’s nothing else to do but marvel at Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini hopping over the boards together for Team Canada in the face of adversity in an Olympic semifinal game against Finland.

When Tom Wilson, Brad Marchand and Sam Bennett take the ice, however, there’s nothing else to do but … hide?

Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper sparked his lineup on Friday with key lineup tweaks that swung the flow of the game in his team’s favor.

The shuffled top line — endearingly referred to as the three Macs by Cooper — saved the day for the Canadians and netted the go-ahead goal that catapulted them into the gold medal game on Sunday.

With an upcoming bout against the Americans, the bruising unit could be just as important as the flashy one.

“They were debating on how many millions of [NHL] fines that they’ve contributed all together as a line,” McDavid told a crowd of reporters at the practice rink across the street from Santagiulia Arena on Saturday. “Pretty, pretty funny line. But provided a massive goal [in the semifinal against Finland]. Ultimately, I think it was them that shifted the game. Truthfully.”

Wilson will make sure you feel every shift you take against him for a week.

Bennett only operates at one level, a relentless force of grit and hockey sense.

And watch out, Marchand might lick you.

The Rat Line.

While their hard-nosed and absolutely infuriating style of play is what defines them as a line, as well as their careers as NHLers, the trio is more than capable of impacting the scoreboard as well.

That is what makes them such a dangerous unit in more ways than one.

They’ll piss you off, and dare you to lose your cool. Then, they’ll bury the puck on the subsequent shift.

“I guess controlled chaos is probably a good way of putting it,” Wilson said of teaming up with March and Bennett. “We’re predictable. But we looked each other in the eye when we got put together as a line, and we didn’t have to say much. We knew how we wanted to play. Really fun to play with two guys who play the same style as myself; guys you hate playing against but love playing with. I’m happy that we were able to chip in on a goal.”

The Americans have no shortage of instigators on their side.

Brady and Matthew Tkachuk alone can handle any nastiness that may arise.

When he wants to, Vincent Trocheck can be a pest who will laugh you off in the most high-stakes circumstances.

Physicality was a major player in the past two meetings between the countries, at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.

Now, officiating has been stricter and there’s no fighting on the Olympic stage, per IIHF rules.

Oh, but the U.S. and Canada are sure to quarrel.

There will be confrontations, probably several.

The players donning the Maple Leaf who are bound to be at the heart of it all have had their careers to prepare.

“They impact the game in an entirely different way than the three Macs do, but they’re both massively effective,” Cooper said. “I think everybody in the big picture is expecting one line to score all the time and the other one not to, and it’s only fitting that the work ethic of that other group was the line that scored the goal for us [against Finland]. It’s just lines that can tilt the ice, they just tilt the ice in different ways.”