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Twenty-eight games have been played in the men’s Olympic hockey tournament thus far, and that number will reach 29 on Saturday when Slovakia plays Finland for the bronze medal. But it will be the 30th and final game that will deliver what so many hockey fans had hoped to see when the tournament opened on Feb. 11 in Cortina, Italy.
That would be the United States facing Canada for the gold medal in the first best-on-best Olympics since 2014 in Sochi. The face off time of 7:10 a.m. central on Sunday might be inconvenient, but it will have little impact on the massive viewership numbers this game will attract.
After all, this is the Olympics, and that means people who ordinarily wouldn’t consider watching a hockey game will be riveted to their television or iPhone as NHL all-star teams from both countries play for gold for the third time.
Canada entered these Games as the heavy favorite but is only a slight favorite for Sunday, according to DraftKings.
The Canadians breezed through pool play, but were taken to overtime by Czechia in the quarterfinals before Mitch Marner’s goal gave them a 4-3 victory. Finland took a 2-0 lead in the semifinals Friday before Canada rallied for a 3-2 win. The U.S. also went to overtime in the quarterfinals, beating Sweden 2-1 on Quinn Hughes’ goal but easily advanced past Slovakia with a 6-2 victory on Friday.
If there is a mental hurdle for the U.S. entering Sunday’s game, it will be how poorly it has fared against Canada when it matters most in best-on-best competition.
The NHL began allowing its players to take part in the Winter Games in 1998, and four years later Canada beat the U.S. 5-2 in the gold medal game in Salt Lake City. Canada prevailed again in overtime of the 2010 gold medal game as Sidney Crosby’s goal gave his team a 3-2 victory.
NHL players didn’t take part in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games, but an appetizer for Sunday was offered last February as Canada beat the United States 3-2 in overtime in the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off. That was a manufactured event — it also included Finland and Sweden — that was extremely competitive. But it wasn’t the Olympics.
The most memorable moment came in the first meeting between the U.S. and Canada as the Brothers Tkachuk, Matthew and Brady, played key roles in setting up what turned into three fights off the opening face off in Montreal. Matthew fought Brandon Hagel, Brady fought Sam Bennett and J.T. Miller fought Colton Parayko of Team Canada. These bouts occurred in the first nine seconds, creating a scene that looked like something straight out of the 1977 classic “Slap Shot.”
There will be no such shenanigans on Sunday, or the combatants will be banished from the game. Instead of “Slap Shot”, this time the United States team will be hoping to recreate the ending of the 2004 movie “Miracle.”
If any single thing has had a major influence on nearly every player in the U.S. locker room, it’s the movie about the 1980 Olympic team shocking the Russians and eventually winning gold in Lake Placid. That is the last time the United States men won gold in hockey. There are likely several members of this team who can recite most of the lines from “Miracle,” including speeches from actor Kurt Russell, who played the part of U.S. coach Herb Brooks.
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