The United States and Canada did their parts and now hockey fans everywhere get their dream matchup for the Gold Medal with Team USA and Team Canada set to tangle on Sunday morning as the final big event at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan Cortina.
For Bruins fans, they get to watch Charlie McAvoy and Jeremy Swayman (from the bench as the backup, anyway) line up against old friend Brad Marchand and a Canadian crew that always seems to pull it out in the end against the Americans. They will have to do it this time without captain Sidney Crosby, though, as he has been ruled out for the rest of the tournament with a lower-body injury suffered in the quarterfinals against Czechia.
The Canadians, without Crosby, had to eke out a 3-2 win over a quality Finnish team that held a lead for two periods, and needed some help from the referees (a sticking call that Nathan MacKinnondefinitely sold) and a close call on an offside play as well. But they did their part prior to the Red, White and Blue completely blowing out Team Slovakia after they had their close call against the Swedes in the quarterfinals.
Here Nathan MacKinnon lifts Niko Mikkola’s stick into his own chin, sells it like he’s been high-sticked, and the Canadian referee calls a penalty. As a result, Canada scores the game-winner and advances to the final. This is justice and impartiality the Canadian way. pic.twitter.com/AhSKEPkjiS— Jussi Lehtinen (@jussi_lehtinen) February 20, 2026
Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Eichel teamed for two goals and five points and 11 shots on net and continues to be a dominant line for USA in a very cool combination with heavy Massachusetts ties. And Jack Hughesscored a pair of goals amidst a very strong Olympics performance that is washing away an unimpressive, soft body of work from last season’s 4 Nations Faceoff that didn’t go America’s way.
The big question now is the health of Tage Thompson, who has been a goal-scoring machine for Team USA, as well, after he left the game against Slovakia early for what Mike Sullivan called “precautionary reasons” after the game was over.
One thing that isn’t in question is the play of Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy, who has played like a caged beast just released from captivity as the games have increased in importance and priority. It’s very reminiscent of last season when he lowered the boom on Connor McDavidduring the USA/Canada meeting prior to being injured for the championship game at the 4 Nations Faceoff.
Here Nathan MacKinnon lifts Niko Mikkola’s stick into his own chin, sells it like he’s been high-sticked, and the Canadian referee calls a penalty. As a result, Canada scores the game-winner and advances to the final. This is justice and impartiality the Canadian way. pic.twitter.com/AhSKEPkjiS— Jussi Lehtinen (@jussi_lehtinen) February 20, 2026
“We’re thrilled for the opportunity we’ve given ourselves,” said McAvoy in the Olympic diary that he is keeping with The Athletic during the Winter Games. “That’s the biggest thing right now. We’re a great hockey team. They’re a great hockey team. It’s going to be a heck of a game.
“You’ve dreamt about this since you were a kid, since the first time you watched ‘Miracle.’ I think it’s gratifying for it to be [Canada]. You want to be the best, you gotta beat the best, right? That’s the old adage. So that’s what this has afforded us: This opportunity.”
It doesn’t get better than loosely quoting the wisdom of Ric Flair headed into a championship hockey game, does it? Truthfully, it’s going to be an epic matchup between a pair of undefeated hockey powers bringing loaded rosters to the table for the gold medal game.
Unfortunately, that’s also meant a lot of bellyaches and grousing from hockey fans about the start time in Milan Cortina, which means puck drop will be happening at 8:10 am Eastern Time, and way, way earlier for hockey fans living on the West Coast of the United States or Canada. That has led to a lot of egotistical complaints from fans that somehow think either A) that the NHL is in charge of scheduling the Olympics or that B) the Olympics are a TV event instead of a historical athletic competition that will always, always set the games at a time that makes sense for the local audience.
Leave it to the US audience to think everything in the world should be catered toward them at all times, and in all places.
Somebody blew it big time by scheduling the men’s hockey gold medal game for 8 a.m. ET Sunday. That just can’t happen. You know it’s going to be U.S.-Canada. European time zones don’t matter. They should’ve worked the entire Olympics schedule around giving it a better slot.— Tim Healey (@timbhealey) February 20, 2026
The bottom line is that the Olympic tournament has been a win for hockey fans everywhere, regardless of when the final gold medal game is going to take place. There is going to be scrutiny, of course, about NHL players taking part in the tournament after Los Angeles Kings forward Kevin Fiala suffered a season-ending broken leg during a Switzerland game, and Sidney Crosby will likely be lost for an undetermined amount of time with a knee injury suffered after absorbing a Radko Gudashit in their win over the Czech Republic.
What’d you guys think of Radko Gudas’s hit on Sidney Crosby? pic.twitter.com/uBPNad5A83— NHLMuse (@NHL_Muse) February 18, 2026
The NHL does not want their players participating in the Olympics even if the public sentiments from NHL commissioner paint a rosy picture about selling the game globally because of their involvement. The NHL does not really have much input on the schedule, they receive no real financial benefit from their NHL players participating in the tournament and NHL owners take a major risk with their best and brightest players engaged in a heated, playoff-level tournament in the middle of the NHL regular season that required a compacted schedule to get all 82 games in during an Olympic year.
The sole reason NHL players are in the Olympics this season for the first time in 12 years is because the players really, really want to be involved and it becomes a major bargaining chip during CBA negotiations between the league and the NHLPA.
So enjoy this USA/Canada game on Sunday morning with your morning coffee and flapjacks because it may or may not be the last one you see with NHL players for a while.
