Key events
Canada 0-1 USA, 8:09 left, 2nd period: Canada win the faceoff. They have a player open at the doorstep, but they can’t connect.
5-on-3 over. Chants of USA. Then Canada commits an elementary error, getting called for icing on their own power play, which is almost over.
Celebrini with a shot that never had a chance. Now a better one, but Hellebuyck is equal to it.
Only 8 seconds left in the 5-on-3.
McKinnon whips a shot wide, and the USA clear. They’re able to change. Then they stop Canada from getting in to the zone.
Going for quick commentary during the 5-on-3.
USA win a faceoff and clear.
Canada 0-1 USA, 10:05 left, 2nd period: Canada 43.75% on the power play in this tournament. USA 100% penalty killing.
But now it’s going to be 5-on-3!! For a full 1:33. McAvoy with an ill-timed grab.
This is pivotal. If Canada can’t score here, the USA will be in their heads.
Canada 0-1 USA, 10:33 left, 2nd period: Sustained possession for the USA now …
But it’s a breakaway to McDavid! He’s in alone on Hellebuyck, but he’s stopped. He may have wanted a penalty on that one. Replay shows it was pretty close to penalty-shot territory.
NOW it’s a penalty on the next sequence, and Canada will have their first power play.
Canada 0-1 USA, 12:10 left, 2nd period: Replay from the big US shot a couple of minutes ago – Brock Nelson was the beneficiary of the Toews giveaway, and he may rue his placement on that opportunity.
Oh, surely that’s a penalty! No? How about the other end? No? OK, cool. The referees are getting a wonderful view of the game, at least.
Canada 0-1 USA, 12:46 left, 2nd period: Canada’s passes are crisp, and Hellebuyck once again has to be at his sharpest. Canada now up 13-10 in shots. The USA haven’t had any possession in the offensive zone in several minutes. But now the puck is loose, and Binnington has to smother.
Canada 0-1 USA, 13:54 left, 2nd period: It’s all Canada – until Toews gives it away! Huge stop by Binnington.
Canada 0-1 USA, 15:04 left, 2nd period: Hellebuyck is under intense pressure now. Long-range shots, short-range shots. His defense is scrambling to cope with the Canadian attack. Marchand with a big shot forces a good save.
Canada 0-1 USA, 16:24 left, 2nd period: Makar with some incisive passes, but his Canadian teammates can’t quite finish.
Canada 0-1 USA, 18:17 left, 2nd period: McDavid with a chance! It hits Hellebuyck and then trickles wide of the post.
Then a half-decent chance at the other end.
Canada 0-1 USA, 19:08 left, 2nd period: Why do players grow playoff beards but not Olympic beards? Just wondering.
Canada 0-1 USA, 19:34 left, 2nd period: We had some line shuffling for Canada. It’ll take me some time to sort it out, so just … trust me. The lines have changed.
First shot of the period to the USA, and they now lead 9-8 in shots.
Second-period faceoff …
Canada needs to dig out of a hole …
A quick peek at what this sport means in Canada, on Bluesky.
Bluesky also has a call to add a Spring and a Fall Olympics. I’m in. It’s going to be a long 28 months or so until the next Olympics. We’ve been spoiled by having four in less than five years post-pandemic.
Day 4: I’m getting really sick of the music they play on the broadcast feeds during breaks in the action.
Day 17: I’m going to miss this music.
Guardian correspondents are sharing some of their favorite moments of the Games on our multisport blog:
End 1st period: Canada 0-1 USA
Nervy moments after a bad giveaway in the Canadian zone.
The USA have nearly evened out the shot count. It’s 8-7 Canada.
Should be some soul-searching in the Canadian locker room. Too many defensive errors. Too slow and deliberate in the attack. Too willing to settle for shots from the blue line.
US defensemen have made their share of errors as well, but they’re generally winning the battles in their own end when it counts.
Canada 0-1 USA, 0:48 left, 1st period: Canada kill the power play, then get called for icing.
Credit to Toews for atoning for his earlier mistake with a strong defensive play in front of his net.
Canada 0-1 USA, 1:33 left, 1st period: Theodore is the unlucky Canadian whistled for hooking, though it’s far less than what Eichel did in exactly the same spot. Again, I’ll ask why this game is being officiated by a USA/Canada crew. Is this figure skating?
Canada 0-1 USA, 2:57 left, 1st period: It’ll be a USA power play. That’s a weaaaaak call.
Canada 0-1 USA, 4:00 left, 1st period: Acute-angled shot, and Binnington has to smother it. For the most part, the USA have opted for quality over quantity on their shots, but that’s a good change of pace to make the Canadian goalie think.
Canada 0-1 USA, 4:49 left, 1st period: Canada lay the puck back to Sanheim, and he rips it on frame. Hellebuyck snags it. The USA probably won’t mind if the defensemen have to take all of Canada’s shots.
I’m reminded that for some reason I find the US players’ habit of gnawing on their mouthguards during breaks in the action really off-putting. Maybe it’s because I need to get a cavity filled this week.
Canada 0-1 USA, 5:00 left, 1st period: Binnington has to make an awkward save as Canada’s defense again can’t cope with some pressure.
Canada just seems tighter. The USA are playing with gleeful abandon, and they’re winning every loose puck in their own zone.
Canada 0-1 USA, 6:50 left, 1st period: USA’s Eichel very lucky not get a hooking call.
Canada have outshot the USA 7-2. But the USA have had the better chances, even aside from the goal. Matthew Tkachuk sends one skittering across the front of the goal.
Canada 0-1 USA, 8:38 left, 1st period: Makar threads a shot from the blue line with some pace, but Hellebuyck hangs on. Good Canadian pressure here.
Canada 0-1 USA, 9:55 left, 1st period: Marchand, another villain to all opposing fans in the NHL but probably temporarily forgiven by Canadian fans for now, clumsily surrenders the puck twice. Celebrini, though, rips a shot that pops off Hellebuyck’s leg pad.
Officiating note: The referees are Gord Dwyer and Chris Rooney. They’re from the USA and Canada. File that under “things that wouldn’t happen in most sports.” Surely some European referees would be up to the challenge.
Canada 0-1 USA, 11:29 left, 1st period: The bulk of the crowd responds with “CAN-A-DA!” We need more creative cheers in the Olympics.
Now Binnington comes up big on a deflected shot. Nearly a second for Boldy.
Canada 0-1 USA, 12:00 left, 1st period: Watching the replay – how Toews managed to go through that play without interposing himself between Boldy and the puck is beyond me. Binnington just seemed shocked.
And now the “U-S-A” chants start.
Gooooaall! Canada 0-1 USA (Boldy 6:00)
Atrocious defense from Makar and Toews, as Boldy skates between them and flips the puck over their sticks, then beats Binnington one-on-one. A shocking lapse after a bright start. Credit to Boldy for the clever stickwork, though.
Canada 0-0 USA, 14:00 left, 1st period: Despite that opening 80 seconds of pinning the Canadians back in their own zone, the USA haven’t managed a shot on goal. That just changed …
Canada 0-0 USA, 14:36 left, 1st period: Tom Wilson of the 2018 Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals sends a shot just wide, then follows up with a trademark hit on the USA’s Dylan Larkin.
(Yes, you can guess where I live.)
Canada 0-0 USA, 15:49 left, 1st period: Suzuki drops it back to Stone for another Canadian shot.
Pet peeve: When players congregate around a loose puck, that is not a “scrum.” Call it a ruck if you like. Or a maul.
Canada 0-0 USA, 16:40 left, 1st period: Good rush for McKinnon’s line for Canada. Another tic-tac-toe combination, and Hellebuyck has to hang on.
Canada 0-0 USA, 17:59 left, 1st period: Canada get the first official shot of the game, easily held by Hellebuyck.
Canada reclaim the puck and force a scramble in front of the net. Each team gets a few good shoves at each other. This is not the NHL, so players do not want to get in a fight.
Canada 0-0 USA, 18:40 left, 1st period: Good hit from McDavid, but the USA maintain possession and send a shot whistling past the net. Canada simply can’t get out of their own zone for more than a minute.
Faceoff
Away we go …
What else has happened at the Games today? And what were some of the highlights of the past two weeks and change? Check our multisport coverage:
Stadium countdown at 7 minutes. Plenty more time for more “Miracle”-themed programming.
This is, coincidentally, the 46th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, and the US men have not won it since. In that time, they’ve reached the final twice, both times in North America, and lost both of them.
The US men have never won gold outside their home country. The famous win was, of course, in 1980. They also won in 1960.
NBC, meanwhile, has brought out 1980 men’s hockey legend Mike Eruzione to talk about what it means to play for the USA. He says this is the best US team ever assembled. He also notes “there’s not a TV set in Canada that isn’t tuned to this game,” and that’s probably not an outlandish statement.
Bryan Armen Graham
The United States will be facing a hostile crowd at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena as they seek their third ever Olympic title in men’s hockey and first since the Miracle on Ice team of 1980. The Americans were greeted with a chorus of lusty boos when they took the ice in their white jerseys for their 20-minute warm-up ahead of today’s gold medal game. It already felt like there were more Canada shirts in the building and along the concourses of the brand-new 14,700-seat arena on Milan’s south-eastern edge. Now it sounds that way too.
It is arguably the hottest ticket of the Milano Cortina Olympics and that’s clear from the scenes outside the gates, where hordes of Canadian and American fans in hockey sweaters are pounding beers and roaring through songs and chants in glorious 53F (12C) sunshine.
And now it’s the saddest moment of every four years …
Olympic curling is over.
Anna Hasselborg goes back-to-back, and my fantasy team dominated.
What was your favorite moment of the Olympics?
Alysa Liu’s gold medal performance? Megan Oldham soaring to two medals? Snoop Dogg showing up at curling? Send in your favorites, and I’ll run through them during intermissions.
Preamble
So many USA-Canada showdowns in Italy this year. Women’s hockey gold to the USA. Women’s curling bronze to Canada.
Fitting that the Olympics will draw to a close with the two North American rivals facing off in the last event, the men’s hockey final. As in 1980, the hockey tournament has political undertones, but things are quite a bit different when each team has a gaggle of NHL players, not a Soviet Union team shrouded in mystery when it’s not dominating on the ice. And this time around, don’t expect any underdog-rallying speeches in the US locker room that will be commemorated on film.
Personal story: When Sidney Crosby scored the overtime winner for Canada on home ice in 2010, I was at high altitude browsing a gift shop in Whistler, where I had just ridden the breathtaking Peak-to-Peak gondola. I made sure the other patrons didn’t know I was from that other country.
Crosby will be missed in this final. But this is still the star-studded final hockey fans wanted to see. Enjoy.
Crosby ruled out for Canada
A big early blow for the Canadians. Their captain, Sidney Crosby, has been ruled out of today’s game. The 38-year-old has won two Olympics golds and three Stanley Cups, but did not play in his team’s semi-final win over Finland due to a knee injury. Canada coach Jan Cooper said on Saturday he would wait until the last minute before making a decision on Crosby’s participation.
“We will see. I watched him skate today and we will meet tonight,” said Cooper. “He won’t put himself in harm’s way, and he will not put the team in harm’s way.”
Beau will be here shortly. In the meantime, here’s what the players said ahead of today’s game:
The US and Canada are prepared for a stormy men’s ice hockey final on Sunday as the long-time rivals face off for Winter Olympic gold.
This year’s Olympics mark the first time NHL players have competed at the Winter Games since 2014, meaning many of the best players in the world will face each other on Sunday. While Canada are the betting favourites – and have won the most ice hockey golds in Olympic history – the US players say they have motivation to upset their northern neighbours.
“There’s hatred there,” USA’s Brady Tkachuk told ESPN on Saturday. “I mean, they’ve been the top dog. They’ve been the best for the last bunch of years, and for us, we want to be in that position, be the best. So it’s going to be a game where I think a lot of guys could say, this is the biggest game that they’ve ever played in.”
The rivalry between the teams has sharpened recently, particularly as political tensions have risen between Canada and the United States. At last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off tournament, Canadian fans booed the US anthem and there were a number of on-ice fights.
Canada’s Connor McDavid acknowledged there is extra spice when his team play the US.
“It is the game everybody wanted and hoped for, and it will be a great game,” he said. “It now comes down to one game between two teams. It is a hockey game, and we are excited about that. Team Canada playing Team USA in a hockey game – that is what it is.
You can read the full story here:
