USA Hockey

USA vs. Canada: What's at Stake in the Showdown of Olympic Hockey Titans

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

The United States and Canada have romped their way through the preliminary round of the women’s hockey tournament at the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, but now the two titans of the sport will clash in a game that will determine the No. 1 seed from the group heading into the elimination round.

Both teams have had a fairly easy go of things in the first three contests of group play. Canada has blown the doors off its opponents by a combined score of 29-3 in those games, while the United States has outscored its opponents by a margin of 18-2.

With both teams firing on all cylinders early in the tournament, the showdown between the squads will test their mettle, and just as importantly, determine the road that they will have to take to the gold medal game.

What’s at Stake for the U.S.

While the United States and Canada are evenly matched by most accounts, the Canadians have had a better time of things as of late against the U.S., winning four of their last five Olympic games against the Americans dating back to 2010 in Vancouver.

In fact, the United States hasn’t beaten Canada in a preliminary round game in the Olympics since the very first women’s hockey tournament in Nagano in 1998.

What’s at Stake for Canada

The Canadian squad will not have had as much rest as the Americans heading into the game, having played on Monday morning in Beijing, but the real kicker is that Canada had to wait even longer to play its game against the Russian Olympic Committee after the start time was delayed.

Canada still cruised to a 6-1 victory over the ROC, setting the stage for a showdown of undefeated teams at the Wukesong Arena in Beijing.

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The Potential Opponents

Ultimately, the real question facing both the United States and Canada is how they will proceed down the road toward a potential gold medal game rematch, with the winner of the Tuesday tilt likely having the easier time getting to the final.

The winner of the game would win Group A, and would face the third-place team from Group B in the quarterfinals. Four teams are still in contention for that spot, with China currently ahead of Sweden and Denmark in the standings.

There is a scenario in which the Czech Republic could drop to third place, which would occur if Denmark wins in regulation over Sweden and if the Czechs lose to Japan in the final game of preliminary play.

Assuming the winner of Group A would defeat the third-place team from Group B, they would then face the winner of the quarterfinal game between the fourth and fifth place teams from Group A in the semifinals. Those teams are currently Switzerland and Finland.

For the loser of the US-Canada game, the road is a bit harder. Not only would they have to play the second-place team in Group B, likely the loser of the Czech Republic-Japan game, but they would then have to potentially play the winner of the quarterfinal game between the third-place team in Group A and the first-place team in Group B in the semifinals, posing a tough matchup.

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