Canada, USA to play for gold at 2026 men’s Olympic hockey tournament
If you liked the women’s Olympic hockey final between Canada and the United States, get ready for some more.
After convincing semifinal victories on Friday, Canada and the United States will meet for gold on Sunday at 8:00 AM ET. Finland and Slovakia will meet in the bronze medal game on Saturday at 2:40 PM ET.
The game will mark the third time the North American giants will have played in the Olympic finals in the NHL era, with Canada having a perfect record thanks to wins in 2002 and 2010. Canada won the last Olympic tournament with NHL representation back in 2014, while the Americans are looking for their first gold since the 1980 Miracle on Ice.
Finland, meanwhile, will hope to steal bronze after winning gold four years ago. The Slovaks will look to take third place for the second straight event.
Canada struggled early, forcing themselves to play some catch-up hockey yet again. With Sidney Crosby out of the lineup due to injury, Sam Bennett was drafted back in after missing the previous game due to injury. But with about three minutes left in the first, he’d take a penalty that would result in a goal against after being involved in a skirmish with Florida Panthers teammate Niko Mikkola. Just two seconds into the ensuing power play, Sebastian Aho got the puck to Mikko Rantanen, who made no mistake on his release to make it 1-0 Finland.
Canada had a chance to tie it up on the power play early in the second period, only for the Finns to capitalize. After a bit of miscommunication between Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, Erik Haula was able to score on a shorthanded breakaway chance to make it 2-0 Finland. Fortunately for the Canadians, Sam Reinhart would tip in Makar’s shot at 34:20 on the man advantage to make it 2-1 heading into the second intermission.
Canada controlled the puck game, doubling the shot count at one point midway through. At 50:34, Shea Theodore managed to ease the nerves of Canadians with his 2-2 goal, taking a feed from Travis Sanheim to make things even more interesting. With just over 30 seconds to go in the game, Nathan MacKinnon gave Canada its first – and only – lead of the game, erasing a 2-0 deficit to win the game 3-2.
The second semifinal wasn’t as close, with the Americans taking a convincing 6-2 victory. The Americans got off to a good start, with Dylan Larkin scoring at 4:19. A late first-period marker from Tage Thompson made it 2-0, with the Slovaks looking defeated to close the frame. A pair of goals from Jack Hughes and another from Jack Eichel would make it a 5-0 game. Juraj Slafkovsky scored with 15 minutes to go, while Pavol Regenda added another one, with Brady Tkachuk splitting them to make it 6-2.
Notably, Thompson left USA’s game ahead of the third period due to precautionary reasons.
PRESENTED BY DAILY FACEOFF’S OLYMPIC COVERAGE
Catch Every Goal from the 2026 Milan Games! The 2026 Milan Games are almost here, and the world’s best men’s and women’s hockey players are ready to battle for gold! The Nation Network is bringing you every game, every jaw-dropping save, and all the drama with live reaction streams and full recaps. Don’t miss a moment of Olympic hockey action—men’s, women’s, and everything in between—on the Daily Faceoff YouTube channel. Subscribe now and stay on top of every play!