After Embarrassing Canada, Team USA’s Women’s Hockey Gold Feels Inevitable

The U.S. blew out the Canadians with a 5–0 thrashing in an unlikely result between the rivals. A gold medal final rematch likely awaits, but is the result already a lock?

The U.S. throttled Canada, 5–0, but the two sides are expected to meet again in the gold medal final. | Xavier Laine/Getty Images

MILAN — The Olympic women’s hockey tournament is always really a competition between the United States and Canada. It is now a competition between the U.S. and the U.S. The Americans just whipped Canada so soundly—and so predictably—that l would understand if loyal Canadians decide to skip next week’s gold medal game. Even if they’re supposed to play in it.

On Tuesday, the U.S. won, 5–0. It felt like 10–0. U.S. star Abbey Murphy made the play of the night: a behind-the-back, defender-draped-on-her pass to Hannah Bilka for the Americans’ second goal. But this was not about a few spectacular plays. The Americans are so much better and deeper that they made the Canadians look … feeble. Do you know how unsettling it is when Canadians look feeble at hockey? It’s like watching a surgeon spill beer in a patient.

Abbey Murphy, no look. Hannah Bilka, NO DOUBT. 🇺🇸

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— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 10, 2026

“I wasn’t expecting that from our group, honestly,” Canada’s Julia Gosling said. “I guess the pressure kind of got to us a little.”

We should point out that Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin missed this game after suffering what the team called a “lower-body injury.” (In hockey, that could mean anything from a broken leg to two broken legs.) If Poulin had played Tuesday, she absolutely could have made it a 5–1 game.

Poulin did play in all four Rivalry Series games between these teams leading up to the Olympics. The U.S. won all four easily. Total goals in the teams’ last five games: U.S. 29, Canada 7. How, exactly, is Canada supposed to win next week?

Look, I am well aware of the history of upsets in Olympic hockey. I was there, in a tiny Olympic arena, when an American told the story of the U.S. beating Russia in 1980 for the four-trillionth time.

Anything can happen in one hockey game. Goalies stand on their heads, pucks ricochet off skates, superstars grip their sticks too tightly, snakes climb inside jerseys, volcanos erupt at center ice. If all of that happens, and Poulin’s lower body heals, and the Americans find out, just before the puck drops, that the Swift-Kelce wedding is off … well, that might rattle the Americans enough to make the game close. But probably not.

The U.S. so thoroughly dominated Canada that it was easy to wonder: What happens if Canada doesn’t even reach the gold medal game? This is the kind of deep, existential question that nobody should bother to ask.

They will meet again in the final. They always do. It’s the surest thing in sports. The last time either team lost an Olympic game was the 2006 semifinals, when Sweden came back from a 2–0 deficit to stun the U.S. In the 20 years since then—across five Olympics:

• The U.S. has trailed teams other than Canada for a total of 9 minutes and 54 seconds—and never in the third period.
• The U.S. is the only country to hold a lead on Canada.

On Tuesday, Team USA captain Hilary Knight recorded her 32nd Olympic point, tying a record for most by a U.S. women’s hockey player. | Alexander Nemenov/AFP/Getty Images

The other day, Canada outshot the Swiss, 55–6. That is not a typo. After 21 minutes against the Czechs, Canada had five goals and the Czechs had five shots. In the past five Olympics, the best day any other country had against Canada was Saturday, when norovirus hit the Finns and their game got postponed.

Everybody expects a rematch. U.S. forward Alex Carpenter said, “We’re not trying to get too high or too low at this point,” which is a tough break for the Canadians, who would benefit from the Americans getting extremely high. Gosling said, “Luckily, we get another chance at them—hopefully—in the later rounds.” She did not need to say “hopefully” and probably should not have said “luckily.”

For Canada, any hope of winning next week hinges on a psychological edge. It is almost impossible to imagine the Canadians outplaying the U.S. over the course of a 60-minute game. But Canada has won five of the last six gold medals, usually in tight games against the U.S. Rosters have turned over, but players on both sides all know the history. Last year at the world championships, the U.S. needed overtime to beat Canada, 4–3.

If Canada can somehow score the first goal next week, will the Americans feel the pressure and wilt? That sounds plausible. But I have a hard time envisioning a psychological edge for a team that has been smoked five times in a row.

At every Winter Olympics, the saddest silver medalists are in women’s hockey. The U.S. and Canada are so much better than everyone else that second place really does feel like last. Maybe this year, losing will be easier. Canada should be used to it by now.

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