Wake up early folks.
MILAN The showdown that the hockey world has waited a dozen years to see again on an Olympic stage is finally here.
It's the U.S. vs. Canada in Sunday's gold-medal match. The stakes could not possibly be any higher.
"This is the pinnacle of the sport, this is as good as it gets," American forward Matthew Tkachuk said.
Then, perhaps forgetting that the puck will drop at 8:10 a.m. ET, Tkachuk added optimistically, "There will not be one TV without this game on in the United States and Canada. That should get you pretty fired up."
The Americans have not won Olympic gold in men's hockey since the iconic "Miracle on Ice" 46 years ago. They last reached the gold-medal match in Vancouver in 2010 when Sidney Crosby's overtime goal lifted host Canada to victory in what remains the most-watched TV broadcast in that hockey-obsessed country's history.
While nine-time champion Canada won the last two times the Olympics featured NHL players in 2010 and 2014, a best-on-best U.S. victory on Sunday would not be a miracle. The Americans came to Milan with a roster overflowing with NHL talent and the unwavering belief that it is at last their time again.
Many of Sunday's key players were also on the ice last February when the U.S. and Canada split a pair of tense, hard-fought games at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Americans won the round-robin matchup in a game that began with three fights in the opening nine seconds. Connor McDavid's overtime goal secured revenge for the Canadians in the final just a few days later.
Will Canada celebrate Olympic gold for the 10th time? Or will the U.S. end its decades-long drought? Let's address five key questions about Sunday's blockbuster gold-medal match.
https://sports.yahoo.com/olympics/article/this-is-as-good-as-it-gets-usa-vs-canada-and-5-factors-that-could-determine-who-wins-the-mens-hockey-gold-medal-120216590.html
If you want to read the 5 things, click the above link.
