The daily Olympics top story on Hockey Hot Stove is powered by Watrhouse Brands, dedicated to quality, consumer education and awareness: Benevolent Bakery, SoSHEL beverages and Smokiez vegan fruit chews.
On the one-year anniversary of the United States’ falling to Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off final, the Americans earned themselves a well-deserved rematch on a much bigger Olympic stage Sunday in Milan.
The Canadians and Americans have been clearly the two best teams in this Olympic tournament, and the gold-medal game matchup that the U.S. team – mostly composed of players from the 4 Nations club – have been looking forward to for a year will happen on a much bigger stage in Italy.
Slovakia a pleasant surprise at the Olympics
Unlike their rivals north of the border who required a late goal to overcome an early 2-0 deficit to Finland, the Americans had little trouble dispatching their own semifinal opponent, dismantling the Slovaks 6-2 and rolling out to an early lead they never relinquished.
Slovakia had been the surprise team of the tournament, winning Group B over tournament contenders Finland and Sweden to earn the third seed in the elimination format, but with a much thinner lineup than the Americans and featuring a starting goaltender who currently plays in the American Hockey League, the plucky Slovaks ran into a U.S. team that seemed determined to advance and really controlled play from the opening face-off.
Larkin and Thompson help Americans take control
Dylan Larkin put the U.S. in front just 4:19 in with his second goal of the tournament, and forcing the Slovaks to chase the game was a big difference for the Americans. While the Slovaks had a couple of power plays to try and get the equalizer, Tage Thompson made it 2-0 before the period expired.
The U.S. had its first multiple-goal lead in the first intermission of the tournament in five games, and like they have most of the tournament, the Americans pulled away from their opponents in the second, scoring three goals for a comfortable edge.
Hellebuyck: big game opportunity
Slovakian goaltender Samuel Hlavaj, who normally plays for the Iowa Wild, was chased after the fourth American goal 19 seconds apart, and the disparity was well on display as while the Slovaks kept the game within reach for 32 minutes before the pair of goals, the U.S. pulled away and skated away to a relatively easy semifinal victory.
Connor Hellebucyk, who has been solid this tournament, has now allowed just five goals in four games, with the two Slovakian goals both coming with the U.S. up by five goals. It was the first time he had allowed two goals in a game in Milan, but three of the five he has yielded have been in garbage time late.
While Hellebucyk hasn’t earned a reputation as a big-game goaltender during his tenure with the Winnipeg Jets, he has delivered when needed so far the United States in the tournament. But clearly the Canadians will pose the biggest challenge he has seen in Milan.
U.S. offense cooking at the Olympics
Offensively, the U.S. has hung at least five goals on opponents in four of five games, with the only exception being their quarterfinal overtime win over Sweden.
The Americans (5-0) will meet the tournament’s other unbeaten team in the final in the Canadians (5-0), with the United States outscoring their opponents 24-8 in their five games, and clearly looking like a formidable foe for the gold-medal favorites.
Canada rolled in the preliminary round, but has relatively struggled in two games in the single-game elimination stage, needing to rally late to beat Czechia in overtime in the quarterfinals, and then having to overcome a 2-0 deficit to Finland to advance on a late power play goal to return to their third straight gold-medal game with NHL players, and fourth of the last five.
Potential deciding factors
While the Canadians are deeper up front and on the blue line, where the game could swing is in the crease.
Canada features the top two scorers in the tournament, with Connor McDavid having two goals and 11 assists in five games, and Macklin Celebrini has the goal-scoring lead with 5 goals to go with his 5 assists for second place in points to his teammate.
The Canadians have scored the most goals in the tournament so far with 27, although that is inflated thanks to an 11-goal outburst against Italy which earned them the top seed in the tournament on goal differential. But the U.S. is second, just three goals behind them.
But Jordan Binnington, who started last year’s 4 Nations final, has had shaky moments in his four games in the tournament, posting a .914 save percentage and a 1.74 goals-against overall, but allowing 5 goals on just 40 shots in the two single-elimination games for an .875 save percentage since preliminary play ended.
While the superior offense helped Canada win both those games, the Americans pose the most potent attack of the other 11 teams in the tournament and are on another level offensively than the Czechs or Finns, and Binnington will need to be better, particularly early against a much more potent attack where he has allowed some softer goals.
The Americans feature a very balanced attack, as Jack Hughes, Auston Matthews, Tage Thompson and Brady Tkachuk leads the U.S. team with three goals apiece in five games the tournament, and Jack’s brother Quinn has six helpers for the United States on the blueline. Thompson missed the third period of the Slovakian with an injury, so his availablilty for the gold-medal game may be in question.
The biggest mystery heading into Sunday may be the availability of Canadian captain Sidney Crosby, who was knocked out of the quarterfinal win over the Czechs after a hit by Radko Gudas, and missed the semifinal win over Finland. Crosby, who delivered the gold-medal overtime winner in Vancouver in 2010, has been noticably missed offensively by the Canadians with his absence, and certainly while he will try to play Sunday, it remains in doubt if he plays or how effective he will be.
First medal in 16 years
Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, the United States will earn its first medal of any kind at the Olympics since 2010 in Vancouver, and also earn their first medal of any kind won outside North America since 1972 in Sapporo. The United States now has reached the gold-medal game for the third time using NHL players, losing both previous trips to Canada in Salt Lake in 2002 and British Columbia in 2010, but will earn their third medal in this format.
But clearly, after last year’s stinging loss in Boston, despite Thompson’s status, the United States is still in a much healthier position than they were a year ago and taking on a Canadian team that seems to be sputtering a bit heading into the winner-take-all contest.
While the Canadians are icing perhaps the most talented team ever assembled in Milan, the United States is starting to play some of its best hockey as it reaches its final stage, and seems fitting they will be looking to earn their first Olympic gold in 46 years against their northern neighbors.
