Friday, February 20, 2026

Canada vs. the United States for Men's Hockey Olympic gold

How the Canadian Mens Hockey team arrives at the final

Canada pulled off a gritty 3–2 comeback win over Finland in the 2026 Olympic men’s hockey semifinal. After falling behind 2–0, they stormed back with three unanswered goals, capped by Nathan MacKinnon’s clutch power‑play winner with just 35 seconds left in regulation. SOURCE [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canada-hockey-beats-finland-semifinal/) [Sporting News](https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nhl/news/canada-finland-box-score-stats-2026-olympic-mens-hockey/4ad7bb213b0896bac650048a)

Finland came out strong early, but Canada’s pressure eventually overwhelmed them — 39 shots to Finland’s 17 tells the story. [CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canada-hockey-beats-finland-semifinal/)

Now Canada’s heading to the **gold‑medal game**, their first shot at Olympic gold since 2014. Quite the statement win.

If you’re following the tournament closely, I’d love to hear who you think Canada matches up best against in the final.

Canada vs. the United States for Olympic gold is exactly what’s on deck, and the storyline basically writes itself.

Team USA punched their ticket with a **6–2 win over Slovakia**, setting up the long‑anticipated showdown with Canada on Sunday. [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/winter-olympics-2026-live-updates-day-14-results-highlights/live/)

And the rivalry context is unmistakable: the U.S. has **never beaten Canada in an Olympic gold‑medal game**, but they’re coming in hot and one win away from their first gold since 1980. [NBC Los Angeles](https://www.nbclosangeles.com/olympics/2026-milan-cortina/us-canada-gold-medal-game-mens-hockey-winter-olympics/3851453/)

So — it’s a rematch, and a big one.

Who’s better positioned for gold?

Both teams arrive with momentum, but in different flavors:

- Canada just proved they can claw back from adversity with that furious comeback against Finland. That kind of resilience is gold‑medal DNA.

- USA has been rolling with speed, depth, and confident scoring — they handled Slovakia decisively and look like a team peaking at the right moment. [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/olympics/news/winter-olympics-2026-live-updates-day-14-results-highlights/live/)

This is one of those matchups where the “better team” depends on what style wins out: Canada’s structured, pressure-heavy game or the U.S.’s pace and opportunism.

Our money is on Canada and that's because speed kills.

A Businesslike Step Toward the Real Test

Canada enters the third game, this one against France, with one job: handle their business and move on. No drama, no surprises. On paper, this is the softest landing spot of the tournament—a roster stacked with NHL pedigree against a French side still building its international footprint. It’s the kind of matchup where the scoreline matters less than the habits.

Canada - Czechia - Feb 12, 2026 | NHL.com

Canada - Switzerland - Feb 13, 2026 | NHL.com

Thursday, February 19, 2026

Coffey Arrives to Keep Oilers Blue-Line Mission Oriented

As NHL Olympic Break Is Winding Down

For most NHL teams, the Olympic break is a pause button. For the Edmonton Oilers, it became an opportunity to take quiet advantage by adding Paul Coffey to coach to the on-ice practice schedule.

Coffey’s return to the bench during a long schedule break before the runup to the 2026 Stanley Cup Finals is no surprise. He reshaped the Oilers’ defensive identity over two seasons, and his influence has been visible in the group’s cohesion this season.

As the season griud is re-launched in a clear-cut drive for playoff position, the Oilers don’t need their defense to be flashy—they need it to be reliable, confident, and capable of supporting the team’s high-octane identity.

Coffey can perfect their handle of the puck in the breakout, and strengthen the way they tighten the circle around netminders. It will improve the complex task of working with Jarry, Ingram, Pickard, with Coffey working hands‑on during the Olympic break. He adds another layer to the story.

He keeps the Edmonton home-fires burning. There’s a hockey sense that comes with Coffey’s presence in Edmonton. He’s not an abstract Hall of Famer wearing a parachute. His experience is visible in skating, teaching, and reinforcing Edmonton's winning hockey tradition in real time.

For a defense corps that has become one of the tightest units on the roster, consistency matters. It keeps the team connected to a cohesive identity. Players have been shown to respond to Coffey. It may be the way he interprets a defenseman's role in the game. He is the bomb in teaching defensemen to contribute offensively from the blueline.

February has been erased and replaced with a practice schedule, an artificially created Olympic lull. It's a chance to harmonize on moving up the ice, honing the trust in other players' puck-skills, and supporting the four offensive units working to take puck possession into the offensive zone.

Clarity has been a major part of the Oilers’ stabilized blue line, and why younger players in particular have taken visible steps forward. The roles are clear.

The long break could have been a momentum killer. Instead, Coffey’s renewed involvement turns it into a prestaging event. The practices have purpose, the room stays focused on the task, and the pace stays elevated. The group stays connected to coaching staff who help unlock their best potential in the most important stretch of hockey this season.

There’s no guarantee in the NHL, every team jockey's for position in February. But the Edmonton Oilers have something tangible: a defense corps that believes in what it’s doing, and a coaching staff whose credibility and calm have become part of the team’s bench strength. Coffey’s presence through the Olympic break isn’t a footnote. It’s a quiet advantage for a team anchored on winning tradition.

If the Oilers defense come out of the break playing as a cohesive unit, improved over the break, don’t be surprised.

Saturday, February 14, 2026

McDavid sets a scorching pace in Turin 2026 Men's Olympic Hockey

Two Games In:

Thursday, February 5, 2026

NHL Penguins Newcomer Drops A Couple Surprises Today

What did I just see?

An NHL Shooting Star?

Every so often, this league coughs up a moment that feels like a flash, a streak, a brilliant interruption in the grind of an 82‑game season. The kind of thing you miss if you’re busy checking line combinations or wondering why the power play still can’t enter the zone.

Tonight, Avery Hayes was the NHL flash.

He didn’t glide in with the polished glow of a first‑rounder or the smug certainty of a blue‑chip prospect. No, Hayes arrived the way shooting stars do: suddenly, unexpectedly, and with enough brilliance to make you wonder if you really saw what you think you saw.

His first NHL shot found the back of the net, a clean, seamless strike from a kid who’s spent more nights in minor‑league rinks than anyone cares to count. Nine minutes later, he buried another, and for a brief stretch of NHL hockey, the whole focus seemed to turn toward him. Not because he was supposed to be the story, but because he refused to let the moment pass without leaving a mark.

That’s the thing about shooting stars. They don’t ask permission. They don’t wait for the right circumstances. They explode because they have to, because the window is small and the sky is crowded and the universe doesn’t hand out second chances to be seen.

Maybe Hayes sticks. Maybe he fades back into the dark corners of the depth chart. The league is a machine that works that way. But here’s the part the old sportswriters never admit out loud: every once in a while, a shooting star doesn’t disappear. Every once in a while, it circles back, brighter the second time, proving it wasn’t a fluke, just the first glimpse of something taking shape.

Should young Avery Hayes light up the Penguins’ scoreboard again, make sure we don’t act surprised.