If you ask just about any Canadian where they were when Sidney Crosby scored the “Golden Goal” on Feb. 28, 2010, they’ll be able to tell you.
Sunday’s rematch between USA and Canada in the gold medal game at the 2026 Olympics has the potential to be the same way.
Whether you’ve religiously followed hockey your entire life or you’ve never seen a game before, don’t miss this one — even if it’s at an inconvenient time for North Americans.
The significance off the ice is just as great as the obvious significance on it. For more than a year, the countries have been involved in a war of words involving everything from tariffs to threats of annexation.
And while it doesn’t necessarily affect the day-to-day lives of Americans, Canadians have not forgotten.
“Everybody has a rivalry with Canada at the international level,” said Utah Mammoth head coach André Tourigny, who has coached Team Canada many times on various stages.
“... It means so much for both of them. I think there’s a feeling for both teams (that) they want to prove they’re the best team in the world, they’re the best team there can be.”
On the ice, this is potentially the most skilled hockey game of all time. Both USA and Canada have enough depth to scratch stars, hence why the Mammoth’s Clayton Keller, the NHL’s 11th-leading scorer last year, is averaging just a little more than six minutes of playing time per game at the Olympics.
“The winner is all of us in the hockey industry,” Tourigny said. “I think having a high-level game between the two best teams in the world at the biggest stage you can ever dream of, I think we’re all winners.”
It’s the first meeting of the tournament for these two teams, but they are already familiar with each other. Of the 50 players on the two rosters, 39 competed at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, where Canada claimed the trophy with an overtime win — and there would have been more if not for injuries.
There’s no such thing as a favorite
Team USA went undefeated in the women’s tournament, allowing just two goals. Despite the fact that they’d beaten Team Canada 5-0 in the preliminary round a week earlier, it took a late comeback and overtime for them to beat the same team in the gold medal game.
In the 2010 Olympics and again at the 4 Nations, the Americans beat the Canadians in preliminary rounds but lost in the title game. No matter how dominant a team is in the previous rounds, everything resets when gold is on the line.
To this point in the tournament, USA and Canada are the lone undefeated teams. One team will end its winning streak on Sunday, while the other will go down in history as one of the greatest teams to ever lace up skates.
Players to watch
Quinn Hughes, Team USA
A lot of people regard Quinn Hughes as the second-best defenseman in the world behind Canada’s Cale Makar, but with more eyeballs on Hughes throughout the Olympics and with his recent trade to the Minnesota Wild, the world is starting to see what Vancouver Canucks fans have known all along.
Yes, Hughes is smaller than most No. 1 defensemen, but when he has the puck, it’s next to impossible to get it away from him.
He’s also the clear-cut best in the world at transitioning from the defensive zone to the offensive zone, and when he gets there he has a knack for getting the puck to the net.
Injury prevented Hughes from playing at the 4 Nations tournament, so this is his first chance to prove himself on the biggest stage.
Macklin Celebrini, Team Canada
There was some debate among fans as to whether Macklin Celebrini should have been invited to the tournament. Now that he’s leading the tournament in goals, the debate is moot.
The 19-year-old has truly been one of Canada’s most important players. When Canada was down by a goal late in the semifinal game against Finland on Friday, it was Celebrini whom head coach Jon Cooper relied upon, along with Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, to play every other shift.
Both goaltenders
Barring any unforeseen situations, Connor Hellebuyck will start for USA and Jordan Binnington for Canada — just like 4 Nations.
Hellebuyck won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s MVP and the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie last season, but it was Binnington, .900 save percentage and all, who prevailed at 4 Nations.
Hellebuyck gets criticized for his play in big moments, while Binnington seems to only get better when the lights are brightest.
Goaltending is the most important position in hockey, so both guys need to be at the top of their game for their respective teams to have the chance to win.
Team USA’s Olympic men’s hockey history
In the five previous Olympic tournaments that NHL players have been permitted to play, Team USA has captured two silver medals: 2010 and 2002.
Their last best-on-best gold came at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey and their last Olympic gold was in 1980.
Needless to say, the United States is hungry for a win.
If it doesn’t go their way on Sunday, they’ll have another shot soon. The NHL plans to bring back a World Cup-style tournament every fourth year, meaning there will be either that or the Olympics every other year.
The game begins at 6:10 a.m. MT. Viewers in the United States can watch it on USA Network.
