Rivals US and Canada could put North American dominance on display

By STEPHEN WHYNO, AP Hockey Writer

One more goal. That’s how close the U.S. was to beating Canada in the final at the 2010 Vancouver Olympics before losing in overtime.

One more goal. That’s how close the U.S. was from tying Canada in the semifinals at the 2014 Sochi Olympics before losing 1-0.

One more goal. That’s how close the U.S. was to beating Canada in the final at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago before losing in overtime.

“Canada won, right?” U.S. center Jack Eichel said. “So, they’re obviously on top.”

Canada has won every major international men’s hockey tournament featuring the NHL’s best players over the past 16 years, a run that includes the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. With Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar joining forces for the first time on the same sheet of ice, the nation known as the cradle of the sport goes into the Milan Cortina Olympics next month as the gold medal favorite.

“It’s always been Canada,” longtime U.S. star Patrick Kane said.

The U.S. has been closing ground for decades, and the fight-filled 4 Nations put the border rivalry in the spotlight while ramping up expectations that the Games will be another showcase of North American dominance.

“The men haven’t been able to get over that hump and defeat Canada and win a gold medal, and I think this is their best chance to do it,” said retired U.S. winger T.J. Oshie, whose shootout heroics against host Russia in Sochi is one of the most memorable Olympic moments in history. “This is the best U.S.A. team that I’ve seen. And if they can come together like they did in the 4 Nations, I think that for the first time, I’d say it’s a pretty fair fight going into it.”

European powerhouses Sweden and Finland, the latter being the defending Olympic champion, will be in the mix, as could the Czechs or Germans. But in a tournament without the Russians, the U.S. and Canada look like the teams to beat. BetMGM Sportsbook set Canada as a 5-4 favorite, ahead of the U.S. at just over 2-1.

Canada won the 4 Nations on McDavid’s goal in Boston last February and has the deepest, most talented forward group of any of the 12 countries involved. That includes 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini, who was on the couch cheering last February while in awe of the quality of play on display.

“That was the best hockey I’ve ever watched,” Celebrini said. “Just the pace, the amount of skill, physicality — all of it combined is the best.”

It could be even faster in Milan, and not only because the rinks are more than 3 feet shorter than NHL-regulation length.

“That’ll probably make the game a lot tighter, too,” Makar said. “The Olympics will be a completely different kind of thing, almost even more amplified.”

The U.S. has hopes for its first men’s hockey gold medal at the Olympics since the 1980 “Miracle on Ice” team. That’s not a pipe dream, as the U.S. National Team Development Program and grassroots growth of the sport has closed the gap on Canada.

“The talent pool and the level of the players of the Americans now I think is as high as it’s ever been,” Kane said. “That’s kind of how we felt in 2010, 2014, (and it) keeps getting better.”