After 10 days of hockey at the Olympics, the Gold Medal Game is set between Team Canada and the United States. It was going to take a huge upset to have either one knocked off, and while Canada came close twice in the quarterfinals and semifinals, they advanced by rallying twice. The United States survived a scare from Sweden in the quarterfinals before rolling over Slovakia in the semifinals on Friday.
On Saturday, Boston Bruins defenseman Henri Jokiharju and goalie Joonas Korpisalo, and Finland will meet Slovakia for the Bronze Medal. On Sunday at 8:10 a.m. EST, Canada and the United States will meet for the Gold Medal. Nothing like the best-on-best to determine a winner.
Canada rallied without captain Sidney Crosby, whose status for Sunday's game won't be known until right before puck drop. Team USA suffered a blow on Friday when Buffalo Sabres forward Tage Thompson left the game after the second period. He had been playing well and scored a first-period power play on Friday. After the game, coach Mike Sullivan said that Thompson suffered a lower-body injury, but he should be ready for the matchup against Canada. What does Matthew Tkachuk think of the matchup?
"This is the pinnacle of the sport,'' Tkachuk said. "This is as good as it gets. A rivalry that’s as good as it gets. So there will be not one TV without this game on in the United States and in Canada, and that should get you pretty fired up.”
Providence Bruins win 13th in a row
To say that the Providence Bruins in the American Hockey League (AHL) are on a heater as a team, that would be an understatement. Winners of 12 straight games, the P-Bruins kicked off a three-game weekend on Friday night against the Belleville Senators at home. Behind two goals from Brett Harrison, the Baby Bruins picked up a 13th straight victory with a 5-2 win. The 13th straight win is a franchise record.
THE FASTEST GOAL OF THE SEASON COURTESY OF BRETT HARRISON 🚨 pic.twitter.com/gVJ6dnxhLn
— Providence Bruins (@AHLBruins) February 21, 2026
Providence got goals from Riley Tufte, Matěj Blümel, and Joey Abate. Goalie Michael DiPietro turned back 25 of the 27 shots he faced after spending the last couple of days at practice in Boston with the big club, with goalies Joonas Korpisalo and Jeremy Swayman still in the Olympics.