Must Watch: USA Men’s Hockey is going to the Gold Medal game against Canada

The debate is over. USA vs. Canada for Olympic gold on Sunday. That’s the game we wanted and that’s the game we’re getting.

The Americans handled their end of the bargain on Friday without breaking much of a sweat, rolling past Slovakia 6-2 in the semifinal.

Jack Hughes scored twice, Connor Hellebuyck was a wall, and Team USA never really looked threatened. Dylan Larkin opened the scoring four minutes in, Tage Thompson made it 2-0 on the power play late in the first, and then Hughes and Jack Eichel basically put the thing to bed in a 19-second stretch midway through the second period.

Team USA – Tage Thompson with a LASER

RAHHH 🇺🇸🦅#USAvsSVK | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/JrJRu8uMCF

— The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) February 20, 2026

Clean, efficient, dominant. Exactly what Team USA wanted heading into Sunday

Slovakia deserves some credit here. They were the story of these Olympics, winning a tough preliminary group that included Sweden and Finland, then absolutely skating circles around Germany in the quarterfinals. Seven NHL players on their roster and they made it to the semis. Good tournament. Just ran into the wrong team at the wrong time.

Now for the main event.

There are way too many Americans complaining about an 8am start time for what could be a USA Men’s Hockey gold medal game on Sunday

The US and Canada have history that goes way beyond this tournament. At last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, these two went at it in a way that reminded everyone why this rivalry is unlike anything else in hockey.

Three fights in the opening nine seconds of round-robin play. Brady Tkachuk and the guys sending a message early. The US won that one 3-1, Canada got revenge in the final when Connor McDavid scored in overtime to win it 3-2.

So it’s split, the bad blood is real, and now there’s a gold medal on the line.

The Americans haven’t won Olympic gold in men’s hockey since the 1980 Miracle on Ice. They’ve been in the gold medal game twice since then, losing to Canada in 2002 and again in 2010.

This roster is widely considered the best the USA has ever assembled for an Olympics. Hellebuyck in goal is a three-time Vezina winner. The defensive corps is loaded. Quinn Hughes said it best: in a seven-game series it probably goes the distance, but Sunday is one game and whoever plays better wins.

Dylan Larkin said it’s going to take someone having the game of their life. He’s probably right. Get your plans cleared for Sunday. This one is going to be something.

SUNDAY. 8AM. RAHHH

SUNDAY. 8AM. RAHHH 🇺🇸🦅#USAvsCAN | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/7nT60jJkNt

— The Liberty Line (@LibertyLinePHL) February 20, 2026

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