Top 5 storylines for gold medal game between Canada, U.S. at 2026 Olympics

MILAN -- The stakes can’t get higher. The rivalry can’t get bigger. The anticipation can’t grow stronger.

It is Team USA vs. Team Canada playing for the gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at Santagiulia Arena on Sunday (8:10 a.m. ET; Peacock, NBC, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC, SN [JIP], TSN [JIP], RDS2).

“It’s going to be a big boy game,” Canada forward Tom Wilson said.

It’s going to be watched by millions of people across North America and the world.

“All the things that make us confident should make them confident as well,” U.S. defenseman Quinn Hughes said. “If we played them in a best-of-7 [series], it’d probably go seven. It’s just going to be whoever is better on that day.”

This is the ultimate Game 7 without the Stanley Cup on the line. It's the two best hockey teams on the planet playing on the biggest sporting stage for the gold medal.

“Man, it means the world,” U.S. defenseman Charlie McAvoy said. “Everything. Everything. It means everything. We get to play for a gold medal on Sunday. This is what you dream of since you’re a kid, since the first time you see ‘Miracle’, right?

“This tournament, this whole experience, has been incredible. I’ve had the time of my life, and we get a chance to try to make our dream come true on Sunday.”

Here are five storylines to follow going into the gold medal game:

1. 4 Nations rematch

The anticipation of this gold medal game is fueled by what happened on Feb. 20, 2025, when these two global hockey superpowers went head-to-head in the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off at TD Garden in Boston.

The U.S. won the first matchup of that tournament, a supercharged and memorable 3-1 victory at Bell Centre in Montreal on Feb. 15. The rematch five days later was, until now, the most highly anticipated hockey game since the Americans and Canadians played in the gold medal game at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

Canada won the 4 Nations Face-Off on Connor McDavid's goal at 8:18 of overtime in a 3-2 victory.

It marked the third straight time Canada has defeated the U.S. in a winner-take-all game of a best-on-best competition, including the gold medal game at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics and the 2010 Vancouver Olympics.

"It was a great opportunity for us last year, and we weren’t able to get the job done," U.S. forward Jack Eichel said. "It was a tight game, one play here or there. They end up making the extra play and they were the champions of that tournament. It’s a great opportunity for us to go win this one."

2. Crosby's availability

Arguably the biggest question in Canada right now is will Sidney Crosby play in the gold medal game?

There is no definitive answer yet.

Crosby is nursing a lower-body injury and missed a 3-2 victory against Team Finland in the semifinals on Friday. He was injured in the second period against Team Czechia in the quarterfinals Wednesday.

Canada had a closed practice Saturday, but coach Jon Cooper said Crosby skated and a determination on his availability will be made Saturday night.

Following the game against Finland, Cooper said Crosby has "got a better chance of playing in the gold medal game than he had playing in tonight’s game.”

It's wait-and-see when it comes to Crosby, Canada's captain and one of two players on the team who has won the gold medal twice, along with defenseman Drew Doughty.

3. Hellebuyck vs. Binnington

Connor Hellebuyck was asked about his confidence level after making 22 saves for the U.S. in a 6-2 win against Slovakia on Friday. He leads all goalies here in each of the major categories (4-0, 1.23 goals-against average, .947 save percentage).

"All-time high," Hellebuyck said with a big smile.

That's good news for the Americans, because Hellebuyck will have to do something Sunday he has never done before, something Canada goalie Jordan Binnington has done twice.

Win the biggest game of his life.

Binnington did that in 2019 in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Boston Bruins with 32 saves in a 4-1 victory at TD Garden.

He did it again last year in the 4 Nations championship game, when he made 31 saves, besting Hellebuyck, who gave up three goals on 27 shots.

Ironically, it was Binnington in goal for the Blues against Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg Jets in Game 7 of the Western Conference First Round last season. Binnington couldn't hold a 3-1 lead, allowing two goals in the final two minutes of the third period before Winnipeg won it in double overtime.

But that was Game 7 of the first round. It was big, no doubt, but not the biggest game of Hellebuyck's career. Hellebuyck also won Game 7 of the second round against the Nashville Predators in 2019.

Again, big, but there was no trophy or medal on the line.

In many respects, winning Game 7 in the first, second or third round of the playoffs is equivalent to winning against Sweden in the quarterfinals and Slovakia in the semifinals here.

It gave Hellebuyck a chance to win the biggest game of his life, something we already know Binnington is capable of doing.

4. USA's penalty kill vs. Canada's power play

The gold medal could be won on special teams, and arguably the most important matchup in the game is the U.S.' perfect penalty kill against Canada's top-ranked power play.

Team USA is 15-for-15 on the PK in the tournament, including 5-for-5 against Slovakia on Friday.

Canada is 7-for-16 on the power play, 43.7 percent, best in the tournament.

The Canadians have scored at least one power-play goal in all five games, including going 2-for-4 against Finland, with Nathan MacKinnon's game-winning goal coming on the man-advantage at 19:24 of the third.

However, they did give up a short-handed goal against Finland too.

The Americans have the second-best power play at 28.5 percent (4-for-14). Canada's penalty kill is 72.7 percent (8-for-11), including getting burned early in each of the past two games.

Czechia went ahead 2-1 on a power-play goal from David Pastrnak in the first period of the quarterfinals on Wednesday. Finland took a 1-0 lead on Mikko Rantanen's power-play goal in the opening period of the semifinals Friday.

5. Different from last year

There is great familiarity between Canada and the U.S.; 35 of the 38 players who played or at least dressed in the final of the 4 Nations Face-Off could play in the gold medal game Sunday, including Crosby and U.S. backup goalie Jake Oettinger.

But there are four players on each team expected to play Sunday who didn't get a chance to play in Boston one year ago.

From the U.S., McAvoy and Quinn Hughes were initially on the 4 Nations team, but injuries prevented them from playing against Canada. Hughes didn't play in the tournament; McAvoy played the first two games before a shoulder injury kept him out for the remainder.

American forwards Tage Thompson and Clayton Keller were not on the 4 Nations team, but each went to the IIHF World Championship and helped the U.S. win gold there for the first time in 92 years. Keller was captain, and Thompson scored the golden goal.

Thompson didn't play in the third against Slovakia on Friday because of a lower-body injury. U.S. coach Mike Sullivan said he was held out for precautionary reasons, but the expectation is he will play Sunday.

From Canada, Macklin Celebrini is the new player making the biggest contribution in the Olympics.

Celebrini leads the tournament with five goals, and his 10 points trail McDavid's 13 for the tournament lead. He played a game-high 25:53 against Finland in the semifinals Friday.

Wilson, Nick Suzuki and Bo Horvat are also playing for Canada at the Olympics after not making the 4 Nations team a year ago.

Wilson is the right wing with McDavid and Celebrini, when Cooper doesn't replace him with MacKinnon. Suzuki took Crosby's place as third-line center between Mark Stone and Mitch Marner. Horvat has bounced up and down the lineup.