The Athletic NHL staff
March 12, 2022 at 6:44 PM EST
Less than a month after the gold-medal game at the Beijing Olympics, Canada and the United States are facing off. Again.
Will the stakes be a little lower in Pittsburgh on Saturday (4 p.m. Eastern, TV: Sportsnet One in Canada, NHL Network in U.S., AT&T SportsNet in Pittsburgh)? Sure, but this is one of the best rivalries in sports. Every game is compelling.
The big names from each roster — Marie-Philip Poulin, Hilary Knight, Sarah Fillier, Sarah Nurse, et al — are in the lineup. An added wrinkle is the growing momentum for a pro league that has the support of the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association and NHL teams alike, fueled by an Olympic final that was watched by 3.54 million people in the U.S. and Canada’s most-viewed event of on CBC.
“I think there’s such a message behind these women are coming together in a difficult time, right? Like the wounds are still fresh,” Jayna Hefford, lead consultant for the PWHPA, told The Athletic. “They’re coming together because of something so much bigger, which is what they’ve always been doing, but this is a true show of solidarity to do it three weeks out of the games.”
- Why now is the time for a professional women’s hockey league — with NHL support (Hailey Salvian)
- Why Team Canada’s gold medal win cements the 2022 team as the best ever (Salvian)
- What went wrong for the U.S. women’s hockey team? (Shayna Goldman and Sean Gentille)
(Photo: Huang Zongzhi / Xinhua via Getty Images)
March 12, 2022 at 6:44 PM EST
Standard protocol for Poulin
Poulin has scored in all four Olympic gold medal games she’s ever played in, might as well score the OT winner in the rematch too.
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 6:43 PM EST
Marie-Philip Poulin wins it for Canada in OT
Who else would have just ended the game but Marie-Philip Poulin?
That’s her fifth game-winner against the US since August (Women’s worlds, rivalry series x2, Olympics and now the rematch).
The puck went off Megan Keller, but it was Poulin with the move below the goal line to keep possession of the puck and banked it in off Keller. Sometimes all you need is a bounce. Poulin seems to get a lot of them, and that’s not a coincidence.
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 5:38 PM EST
Brianna Decker injury report
We got a decent bit of news about U.S. star Brianna Decker, who broke her fibula and tore ankle ligaments about 10 minutes into the Olympics, courtesy of A.J. Mleczko on the broadcast.
Decker’s surgery went well, Mleczko said, and she’s expected to be back on the ice later this spring.
Sean Gentille·
Senior Writer, NHL
March 12, 2022 at 5:37 PM EST
“When you have Canada and the USA There’s no meaningless hockey”
Sarah Nurse just said the Canadian team hadn’t skated since the gold medal game in Beijing. Yet this game has been played with pace and still a lot of skill and a bit of heat on display.
“When you have Canada and the USA There’s no meaningless hockey,” Nurse said. “This one is for our pride. We don’t wana. Leave the country without a win.”
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 5:25 PM EST
Hannah Brandt ties it at 2
Hey, we’re tied again. Just like on the Americans’ first goal, it was Hannah Brandt getting things started in the neutral zone. This time, the puck eventually found her again after a deflecte puck outside the crease. She went five-hole on Maschmeyer with 6:23 left in the second period for her first goal and second point. That line has been good.
Sean Gentille·
Senior Writer, NHL
March 12, 2022 at 5:20 PM EST
AJ Mleczko and Cammi Granato on the call
The chats between the coaches and commentators have been a lot of fun. AJ Mleczko just asked Cammi Granato (team USA’s celebrity coach) how much coaching she’s going out there.
Granato just laughed: “Ehh, here and there.”
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 5:16 PM EST
Goalie Swap
Both teams have switched goalies for the second period.
In goal for Canada: Emerance Maschmeyer, the “backup” who started two games at the Olympics and posted two shutouts.
In goal for the US: Maddie Rooney, the hero in the 2018 gold medal game.
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 4:47 PM EST
Team USA evens the score at 1
Hey, we’re tied.
Congrats to all the Hilary Knight superfans in the stands; she brought them a goal with about about 30 seconds left in the period. Hannah Brandt poked the puck ahead to Knight, who’d just jumped off the bench. She went forehand-backhand to beat Ann-Renée Desbiens. We’re used to seeing lasers from Knight. She’s got other clubs in the bag, though.
Sean Gentille·
Senior Writer, NHL
March 12, 2022 at 4:41 PM EST
Watch Poulin work
I have nothing to say, but, Marie-Philip Poulin.
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 4:40 PM EST
Kendall Coyne Schofield’s in-game interview
Kendall Coyne Schofield just spoke after Campbell-Pascall.
On the event: “This crowd is amazing. It shows the importance of the visibility of women’s hockey and the consistency of it and making sure it doesn’t go silent after the Olympic Games.”
And about balancing playing hockey at an elite level while also trying to grow the game: “It’s the role that we are honoured to have is to leave this game better for the next generation. We are rivals when we put on these jerseys but when we take them off we’re together working towards that goal everyday.”
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 4:36 PM EST
Cassie Campbell-Pascall’s in-game interview
One of the things this broadcast is doing right: in-game conversations with a bunch of important people. Cassie Campbell-Pascall, the Team Canada legend who’s serving as coach today, took her turn on the mic, answering a question from A.J. Mleczko about how the relationship between the teams has changed in recent years.
“I think this is the most impressive thing about this generation, is the fact that the rivalry is so fierce but at the same time they can come together.”
Then, defender Erin Ambrose playfully sprayed Campbell with water from the bench. Ambrose, Campbell joked, is benched. (We’re going to use this as excuse to gas up Hailey’s story about Ambrose from the Olympics.)
Campbell-Pascall kept it rolling.
“That to me impresses me the most, is how they’re willing to come together and sacrifice their careers. We never had to do that. We didn’t have as much, as far as NCAA and youth sports and all those places that we could play. but we never had to sacrifice not playing, and this group is doing that,” Campbell-Pascall said. “They believe in their cause. It’s not about money. It’s about infrastructure and a true professional league that’s gonna be long term.”
Sean Gentille·
Senior Writer, NHL
March 12, 2022 at 4:20 PM EST
Some wholesome content from the Canadian team
The Penguins’ social media team has a fun little bit they do with the players — “Tiny Mic” — that they brought to the Canadian team ahead of puck drop on Saturday. Folks … this is wholesome content. Nobody voted for themselves. Four players voted for teammates.
The full leaderboard:
Marie-Philip Poulin (4)
Cassie Campbell (4)
Jayna Hefford (4)
Caroline Ouellette (2)
Becky Kellar (2)
Brianne Jenner (2)
Jennifer Botterill (1)
Brittany Maschmeyer (1)
Natalie Spooner (1)
Blayre Turnbull (1)
Sean Gentille·
Senior Writer, NHL
March 12, 2022 at 4:18 PM EST
Canada jumps to early 1-0 lead
Blayre Turnbull jumps on a loose puck and opens the scoring for Canada. Nice job by Rebecca Johnston to open up the lane for Turnbull to get a shot off.
1-0 Canada early into the first period.
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 4:16 PM EST
I’m all in on Canada tonight
The Canadian vibes are immaculate. I’m betting on another victory tonight.
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 4:15 PM EST
Not just any exhibition game
This game might be an exhibition, but I think we can expect it to bring the typical elements of a Canada-US rivalry game — speed, skill physicality. The stars are all here for this like Hilary Knight, Marie-Philip Poulin, Sarah Nurse, Amanda Kessel — NCAA players are not here — and they always put on a show when they’re given a platform like this.
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
March 12, 2022 at 3:33 PM EST
Team Canada’s starting lineup
Here is Team Canada’s starting lineup.
By The Athletic Staff
March 12, 2022 at 3:15 PM EST
Team USA’s starting lineup
Here is Team USA’s starting lineup.
By The Athletic Staff
March 12, 2022 at 12:41 PM EST
Five questions for the U.S. women’s hockey team
There are plenty of questions we could ask about Canada’s 3-2 win over the United States in the gold medal game of the Olympic women’s hockey tournament.
Is this the best version of Team Canada anyone has ever seen?
Is Marie-Philip Poulin the best player in the history of the sport?
Does any rivalry, in any sport, deliver on its promise so consistently?
Those are fine. They’re also not explicitly about what we saw from Team USA in the final in Beijing — where they went wrong, what comes next — and thus, they are not worth discussing in this space.
These are the five biggest questions surrounding the U.S. loss and what comes next.
(Photo: Elsa / Getty Images)
The Athletic NHL Staff
GO FURTHER
What went wrong for the U.S. women’s hockey team? 5 questions after the gold medal game
March 12, 2022 at 12:38 PM EST
Why Team Canada’s gold medal win cements the 2022 team as the best ever
Team Canada didn’t just rewrite the record books in Beijing. They steamrolled opponents (57-10), went undefeated (7-0) in the tournament, including two wins in nine days against their biggest rival, and made a legitimate case to be remembered as not just champions, not just as a remarkable group of individual talents — but the best Canadian national team ever.
We can say that now, but they had to beat the United States in the gold-medal game to earn the title.
They did it by winning 3-2 in regulation.
(Photo: Jean Catuffe / Getty Images)
Hailey Salvian·
Staff Writer, Flames
GO FURTHER
Why Team Canada’s gold medal win cements the 2022 team as the best ever
