Canada eye legacy, United States seek revenge in ice hockey gold-medal clash

MILAN – Canada and the United States open a fresh chapter in their epic Olympic rivalry in Milan on Feb 22, facing off in a heaven-sent gold-medal game that North American fans were praying for in the men’s ice hockey tournament.

The National Hockey League (NHL) could scarcely have written a better script when they agreed to send their players back to the Games for the first time in 12 years, with the world’s foremost ice hockey powerhouse nations facing off with their all-NHL rosters.

Said American centre Dylan Larkin: “It’s what everyone wanted, this matchup in the gold-medal game, and I’ve thought about it a lot.”

For Canada, the final represents a chance to underline their legacy and bring home a 10th gold to the country that started the sport and regards it as a national religion.

For the US, it offers a chance for revenge, 16 years after Canada denied them the top of the podium in an overtime heartbreaker and 46 years since they last claimed Olympic gold.

“NHL players have not had the ability to play in the Olympics since 2014, that’s 12 years. Some of these kids were in diapers then,” Canada coach Jon Cooper said, referring to the Sochi Games.

“They’ve never been part of this. There is so much pride. The hockey has been so great and so close. That’s why the Olympics are unique. There is nothing like it in the world.”

Both teams confidently marched through the group stage, providing little intrigue in what at first appeared to be an inevitable trip to the championship game.

That narrative got obliterated in the quarter-finals, where each team faced a major overtime test that nearly derailed their respective campaigns.

Canada clawed back from a deficit against the Czech Republic and the US kept their cool after Sweden netted the equaliser with just 91 seconds in regulation.

Their paths diverged at the Feb 20 semi-final stage, where the US cruised past Slovakia 6-2, while Canada had a harder time holding off the defending champions Finland without their injured captain Sidney Crosby.

Cooper said on Feb 20 that it was too soon to say whether Crosby, who left the ice during their quarter-final match with an unspecified injury, would return for the final.

Either way, Canada can rely on the absurd talent of 29-year-old future Hall-of-Famer Connor McDavid – the points leader through five games with two goals and 11 assists – and the prodigy 10 years his junior Macklin Celebrini, who poured in five goals.

They also have the NHL’s leading goalscorer in Nathan MacKinnon as an added bonus.

“It’s everything. It’s the gold medal at an Olympic Games,” said MacKinnon, a forward for the Colorado Avalanche.

“We are very lucky to be here and it’s a great opportunity. We have got to be ready.”

The US, uninterested in handing more golden hardware to their northern neighbours, will hope to replicate the success of their female counterparts, who beat Canada for gold in a thrilling women’s final on Feb 19.

Quinn Hughes, the tournament’s highest-scoring defender with a goal and six assists, will hope to make winning a family affair for the Americans with his brother, Jack, who has contributed three goals and three assists in five games.

“We believe this is the best group in the whole tournament and the best group in the world,” said Jack Hughes, who scored twice in the 6-2 win over Slovakia.

“We are proud Americans and we are excited to have a chance at the gold medal.”

“We know that we’re the two best teams and when we’re in the summer and we’re thinking, laying in bed, thinking about the Olympics, we know that we want it to be USA v Canada.” REUTERS, AFP