USA vs Canada gold medal games do not come with low stakes. They come with history, rivalry, and a pulse-pounding intensity that turns every face-off into a flashpoint. Sunday’s final at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan delivered exactly that — and then some.
The timing was almost too cinematic to believe. February 22 marks 46 years since a group of college-aged American underdogs toppled the Soviet Union in Lake Placid — a win so improbable it became the defining mythology of U.S. hockey. Mike Eruzione’s goal. The roar of the crowd. An entire nation stops cold. That game, now immortalized as the Miracle on Ice, set a standard that has haunted every American hockey generation since. On this same date, with Eruzione himself present in Milan, cheering on both the men’s and the already-triumphant U.S. women’s squad, Team USA took the ice against the one nation that makes every American hockey fan’s stomach drop: Canada.
The Rivalry Reloaded
This was not 1980. There were no underdogs, no impossible odds, no amateur dreamers. The 2026 Winter Olympics gold medal game featured the best hockey players on the planet — men who headline NHL arenas every night and carry the full weight of national expectation every time they pull on an Olympic jersey.
Canada arrived in Milan with three of the top four scorers in the NHL. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Macklin Celebrini formed a forward group that had dismantled opposing defenses throughout the tournament. The Americans answered with Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, the Tkachuk brothers, and a healthy Quinn Hughes — the defenseman who missed the earlier 4 Nations Face-Off but was fully cleared for this moment.
Crosby Out, USA Strikes First
The most seismic news before puck drop came from the Canadian side. Captain Sidney Crosby, injured during the quarterfinal round, did not appear on the lineup sheet released roughly an hour before the opening face-off. Coach Jon Cooper confirmed the decision was made with both the player’s health and the team’s best interest in mind. Crosby’s absence cast a shadow over Canada’s lineup — less in tactical terms and more in the emotional gravity that his presence always carries.
For the U.S., forward Tage Thompson, who sat out the third period of the semifinal against Slovakia as a precaution, was cleared and listed on the official USA Hockey and IIHF lineup. His availability gave the Americans a boost heading into the most important game of the tournament.
The opening puck dropped at 8:10 a.m. ET on NBC, with streaming on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com. Connor Hellebuyck started between the pipes for the United States. Jordan Binnington took the crease for Canada — a rematch of the goaltending battle from the 4 Nations Face-Off final, where Binnington held firm before McDavid ended it in overtime.
Team USA did not wait. Six minutes into the first period, Matt Boldy split the Canadian defense, threading between Cale Makar and Devon Toews before beating Binnington cleanly on the Americans’ very first shot of the game. Auston Matthews and Quinn Hughes picked up the assists. USA 1, Canada 0.
The game was physical before the goal and became more so after it. Tom Wilson delivered a bone-rattling hit on Dylan Larkin. Brandon Hagel responded by laying out Hughes moments later. Neither team had any intention of making this comfortable.
How Each Team Got Here
Both nations entered the gold medal game undefeated through five games, setting up a collision between the tournament’s two most dominant sides.
The Americans worked through Latvia, Denmark and Germany in preliminary play before taking down Sweden in the quarterfinals and Slovakia in the semifinals. The road was not always clean — the U.S. rallied from behind to beat Denmark and needed overtime to knock out Sweden.
Canada’s path was equally dramatic. The Canadians defeated Czechia, Switzerland and France in group play, then beat Czechia again in the quarterfinals and Finland in the semifinals. Both of their final two victories required comebacks, including an overtime finish against the Czechs.
A Gold Medal Game Decades in the Making
For American fans, this was more than a game. It was the convergence of history, rivalry, and a deep, long-standing hunger for Olympic gold. The 1980 team gave the U.S. its mythology. This team had a chance to give the country something new — a championship built not on miracle, but on dominance.
