NHL players are FINALLY back in the Winter Olympics and this tournament has the potential to be epic. The 4 Nations Face-Off was an incredible success for the NHL and fans got to see best-on-best hockey at the highest level. It had everything including fights, tension and mesmerizing skill.
There won’t be many fights because of IIHF rules, but we’ll see a bunch of national teams that have incredible talent. Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews and William Nylander are just some of the super talented players we’ll see go to battle for Olympic gold. Here are some predictions for the men’s hockey tournament in Milan Cortina.
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Auston Matthews has had a tough season so far in Toronto but the Olympics could be a perfect spot for the American to light the lamp. He has potted 26 goals this season and will see a ton of power play time for Team USA.
Matthews has scored 69 goals in one season and could damage early in this tournament when he’s facing lesser competition.
Connor McDavid is the best hockey player in the world and he’ll prove it on the world’s biggest stage. He leads the NHL in points with 34 goals and 62 assists for the Edmonton Oilers this season. McDavid tallied 10 points in his last six games.
He played hero in the 4 Nations Face-Off and Canada will need him to be a difference maker to win the gold medal. No. 97 plays all facets of the game and will see plenty of action Canada’s lethal power play.
Canada has won the last two Winter Olympics that featured NHL players, but it’s going to be Team USA’s time this year. They’re an extremely talented group and have grit as well. Matthew and Brady Tkachuk bring toughness with skill to this team. They have elite goal scorers like Kyle Connor, Auston Matthews and Jack Hughes.
They’ll have stiff competition such as Canada, Finland and Sweden. Any hockey fan will want to see Canada vs United States and that would be an unreal gold medal tilt. The USA will have elite goaltending with Connor Hellebuyck leading the charge. That should be the major difference maker in this tournament.
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