As anticipated, Team Canada and Team USA clinched the top two seeds in the medal round of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament. Their paths there, however, were a little different.
Canada demolished its competition, never trailing and outscoring Czechia, Switzerland and France 20-3 to win Group A. The United States, meanwhile, played tighter games on its way to winning Group C against Latvia, Denmark and Germany. Across the Americans’ three preliminary-round games, the score was tied or within one goal for 105:50, compared to 69:02 for the Canadians.
It is not guaranteed that Canada and the U.S. will meet in the gold-medal game. First, the Canadians must get past Czechia on Wednesday, while the Americans will face either Sweden or Latvia in the quarterfinals. But both superpowers flexed their muscles during the tournament’s first week.
“We’re going in the right direction, but I know for sure we haven’t played our best yet,” Canada defenceman Drew Doughty told reporters, which is a terrifying thought. Team Canada generated 76.4 per cent of the expected goals at five-on-five and 52 more high-danger scoring chances than its opponents in all situations during the preliminary round.
Through three games, much of the focus has been on Canada’s nuclear-weapon line of Macklin Celebrini, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. When Canada coach Jon Cooper has called on them to team up, they have toyed with their opponents. Canada has outscored opponents 3-0 in 10:25 of five-on-five ice time when three of the NHL’s top four point producers this season have been on the ice simultaneously.
But Team Canada’s most consistent line consists of Mitch Marner, Sidney Crosby and Mark Stone. The well-rounded trio has a 4-1 edge in goals, out-chancing opponents 17-6 along the way (8-2 off the cycle).
As Colorado Avalanche teammates, defence partners Devon Toews and Cale Makar are used to heavily tilting the ice in their team’s favour. That has carried over to the Olympics, where Toews and Makar have helped Canada record a 79.2 XGF% at five-on-five while also sporting a 7-0 goal differential.
In the lead-up to the Olympics, Team USA general manager Bill Guerin took a lot of heat for leaving many of the country’s top scorers at home. Those controversial decisions have not yet haunted the Americans, who are led in scoring by captain Auston Matthews, who has three goals and five points. Matthews’ 3.47 expected goals lead the tournament by a decent margin. (McDavid is second with 2.67 expected goals.)
Team USA’s highest-performing forward line features Brady and Matthew Tkachuk flanking Jack Eichel. At 35:45 of five-on-five ice time, the Tkachuks and Eichel have played together more than any other forward combination at the Olympics. They have outscored opponents 4-0 and outshot them 15-1 from the slot.
“I think that we’ll obviously get better, and I think as the tournament goes on and the games get more competitive, I think we’ll rise to the occasion,” Eichel told reporters. “We’ve done enough so far to put ourselves in a good position, but listen, it’s do or die now.”
On the back end, Quinn Hughes, who missed the 4 Nations Face-Off last year because of injury, leads Team USA in ice time (22:11) and offensive-zone possession time (1:03) per game. He and partner Charlie McAvoy have not been on the ice for a five-on-five goal against in nearly 40 minutes of ice time.
“(Hughes) defends so well with his mobility and his stick, and you watch him both five-on-five and on the power play and how dynamic he is, whether it be with our transition game or jumping off the offensive blue, he’s a unique player, and so to have him as part of the group this year, I think, is a huge boost for us,” U.S. coach Mike Sullivan told reporters.
Not to disrespect the other countries vying for a gold medal, but Canada versus the U.S. is the matchup most of the hockey-watching world is hoping to see. As long as both teams take care of business, the tournament final could be one to remember.
