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It’s the dominant Americans against the shockingly underdog Canadians. Can Marie-Philip Poulin will her team to a win? Or is it time for Caroline Harvey and the Americans to prove that their time is now?
Team Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin has played in four gold medal games and scored in every one. Carolyn Kaster
February 19, 2026 | 9:09 AM
4 minutes to read
MILAN — Once again, it’s the United States vs. Canada for Olympic gold. If you have never watched a women’s hockey game, make it this one. It never disappoints.
It’s the dominant Americans against the shockingly underdog Canadians. Can Marie-Philip Poulin will her team to a win? Or is it time for Caroline Harvey and the Americans to prove that their time is now?
Entering Thursday’s gold medal game at the Winter Games, here are the biggest factors for Canada, and then the United States:
Canada’s Captain Clutch. Magic surrounds Poulin at the Olympics. Even in a diminished state, playing through a right knee injury, she is what makes Canada believe.
The former Boston University star has played in four gold medal games and scored in every one, netting the winner at the 2010, 2014, and 2022 Games. She has 20 goals in 26 Olympic contests, the women’s record. Among the men, only the Finnish Flash, Teemu Selanne, has scored more goals (24, in 37 games) in the last half-century.
The Americans have everything, but the Canadians have Poulin. That’s why coach Troy Ryan calls his team’s seven-game losing streak in this rivalry a “non-factor.”
“It’s a one-game showdown and there are many different aspects of those seven games,” said Ryan, who watched Poulin score twice in a 2-1 semifinal win over Switzerland. “In our room and as our group, we know we’d like to play better in those seven games, [but] I don’t think they’re going to impact the gold medal a bit.”
Belief is important. But the mere presence of Poulin — who missed two preliminary-round games, including a 5-0 loss to the United States — may not be enough.
The Canadians will find motivation somehow. The first time Canada beat the United States for gold at the Olympics, in 2002 in Salt Lake City, it was playing angry. In a television interview afterward, Canadian captain Hayley Wickenheiser revealed why.
“You know what, the Americans had our flag on the floor in their dressing room,” she said, out of breath, her stare burning a hole through the camera lens. “And now I want to know if they want us to sign it!”
As an investigation later revealed — and as the Canadians later acknowledged — it was hearsay. The Americans didn’t desecrate the Canadian flag. But for a team that had lost the 1998 gold medal to the United States, and eight straight games leading up to the 2002 Games, it worked.
Again: They have Poulin. She’s that important. If she’s on the ice, she’s dangerous.
However …
The United States is the better team. The United States has outscored its opponents, 31-1, over five games, and hasn’t allowed a goal since its preliminary opener, an Olympic-record stretch of 331 minutes, 23 seconds. The Americans handed a Poulin-less Canada its worst loss at the Olympics, and only shutout.
They do it by controlling the puck and attacking constantly. They’re the fastest, quickest team in the tournament. Their forwards win battles in front of the net, readying their sticks for the booming shots of defenders Megan Keller and Laila Edwards. They pile up absurd shot totals (254 for, 95 against) because they don’t have to play much defense.
When they do, Aerin Frankel is there. She’ll likely get the start, after denying 67 of 68 shots in her four starts in Milan. Fellow Northeastern grad Gwyneth Phillips has stopped all 26 shots she has seen over two games.
Is it the best team the Americans have ever had?
“We get the job done tomorrow night,” Kendall Coyne Schofield acknowledged, “I think that statement holds true.”
This version of Canada is older and slower than the United States, and doesn’t have forwards that dominate the puck other than Daryl Watts (2-6–8 in six games).
“They’re just a good hockey team,” Ryan said, calling the Americans skilled, fast, physical in the trenches, and committed to their game plan. “There’s nothing magical in the mix that they have there.”
Well, not quite.
Caroline Harvey is a game-changer. Poulin’s record is unmatched, but no one is playing at Harvey’s level. She’s the best in the world right now.
She personifies the fast-twitch style of the United States. She is the best skater in the game, circling the offensive zone with ease and using her feet and stick to end plays before they become dangerous.
No one has found an answer for the tournament’s leading scorer, who has two goals and nine points in six games while being a ridiculous plus-14.
It’s Hilary Knight’s last ride. The United States will be playing for its 36-year-old captain, who said in May that her fifth Games will be her last. Her next goal and point sets the US Olympic records.
The face of American women’s hockey for nearly two decades, the driving force (along with Coyne Schofield) in the creation of the PWHL, Knight’s impact on the game will last forever. All of her teammates want one more gold medal for their beloved captain.
“You just want to be in a flow state, just playing hockey,” said Knight. “So there’s a lot of preparation that went into getting us to this final game. And you know, hopefully we can continue to trend in the right direction with all the things that we’ve had up in our arsenal.”
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