When the United States and Canada face off Sunday for the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal, six members of the Vegas Golden Knights will be on the ice or behind the bench. For some, the flight back to Las Vegas will be far happier than for others.
The game at Santagiulia Arena in Milan (5:10 a.m. PT, NBC/Peacock) pits two of the most talented rosters ever assembled. Canada holds a 2-0 edge in previous gold-medal matchups since NHL players joined the Olympics in 1998, and also won the 4 Nations Face-Off last year.
Golden Knights captain Mark Stone, forward Mitch Marner, defenseman Shea Theodore and assistant coach Bruce Cassidy — on staff for Canada — are seeking their first gold medal. On the U.S. side, center Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin aim for America’s first Olympic hockey gold since the 1980 Miracle on Ice team.
“It’s two of probably the best teams ever, maybe,” U.S. winger Matthew Tkachuk said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for the players over there and what they’ve done in the past, and we want to be the team that comes out on top.”
Canada’s path has been rocky. “It hasn’t been the smoothest quarters and semis for us,” said Connor McDavid, who leads the Olympics with an NHL-record 13 points. “But I think that adversity is good. Going through that has brought us closer.”
For the Knights’ contingent, roles have shifted dramatically. Stone, Marner and Theodore — key cogs in Vegas — are role players on Canada’s deep roster. Cassidy, normally behind the bench for the Knights, runs Canada’s power play. Eichel, though Team USA’s No. 1 center, averages about 16 minutes per game, while Hanifin rotates as a seventh defenseman.
The winner claims gold; the loser goes home empty. After Sunday, the Knights resume their NHL schedule with 25 games remaining starting Wednesday.
