The United States are tipped to win the men’s ice hockey gold medal.
Goalie Connor Hellebuyck has been outstanding so far, while at the other end of the ice the Americans have produced a balanced attack that has brought plenty of goals.
They were also able to rest up late in their semi-final, while Canada went to the wire in theirs.
Key Numbers – USA To Complete Perfect 6-0 Campaign?
- United States have won all 5 of their games so far
- United States have allowed just 3 goals in the knockout stage
- Canada have conceded 5 goals so far in the knockout stage
- The two teams are allowing a combined 3.2 goals per game
Canada Lead Recent Head-To-Head; Won Last Meeting
- Canada lead the series 20-9 since 2002
- Canada won 4-3 when the two teams last met in May 2022
Canada Unbeaten After 5 Games
Canada have won all five of their games on their way to the Winter Olympics Gold Medal Game.
The Canadians entered the tournament as the favourites to go all the way, and they lived up to their billing as they dominated during the group stage.
They opened with a 5-0 shutout win over the Czech Republic, and backed that up by blowing out Switzerland, 5-1, and France, 10-2.
But while Canada’s group campaign was plain sailing, the knockout stage has been much harder work for them.
The Canadians needed overtime to beat the Czechs 4-3, and then had to come back from two goals down and score with 35.2 seconds left to beat Finland 3-2 in the semi-finals.
United States Boast Perfect 5-0 Record
The United States have also completed a perfect path to sit within 60 minutes of claiming Winter Olympics gold.
The Americans also eased through the group stage with three convincing wins, starting with a 5-1 victory over Latvia.
They followed that up with a 6-3 success against Denmark, before wrapping up their group game with a 5-1 blowout of Germany.
The United States’ quarter-final outing was less straightforward through, as they needed an overtime goal from Quinn Hughes to beat Sweden.
There were no such issues for the Americans in the semi-finals though, as they opened up a five-goal lead before the end of the second period in a 6-2 rout of Slovakia.