Team Canada imposes a new restriction ahead of the gold medal game, Team USA doesn’t
Photo credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
Team Canada seems to be making sure they take no chances ahead of the gold medal game and are keeping their practices away from the public eye.
When Canadian and American fans wake up bright and early on Sunday, they are going to have a gold medal game to look forward to as Team USA and Team Canada face off for international supremacy during the 2026 Olympics.
While Canada deals with the fact that Sidney Crosby may not play due to an injury suffered against Czechia, the USA are looking to redeem themselves after over 40 years of disappointment.
Canada holds practice behind closed doors ahead of Olympic final
Canada may not have the easiest time of things, and ahead of the crucial matchup they seem to be taking no chances much to the pubic's chagrin.
It was announced that for Canada's semifinal and gold medal game, their typical open practices would be closed to the public as the team makes sure that there isn't any potential strategy or lineup leaks:
This is in contrast to Canada's previous practices which were open, and is a quick turnaround from GM Doug Armstrong.
Meanwhile, the US practices stay open as they look to win their first Olympic gold in hockey since Lake Placid's Miracle on Ice in 1980.
While it isn't a massive decision by Canada, it's still an interesting one given that they aren't looking as strong as they have been and may be trying to hide their potential fixes ahead of a North American clash.
USA and Canada clash set to have historic implications
What sucks most is that the public now no longer gets one last chance to check out the Canadian practice and the last time they will see them on the ice is when they go for gold on Sunday morning.
Canada will be shorthanded regardless if Crosby plays or not given that Josh Morrissey has been ruled out after he was unable to recover in time from an injury suffered in the first game of the tournament.
The team can't rely on another comeback win and need to be on their toes. They have to do their best to calm down the potent US offence and if they can end up neutralizing Auston Matthews, Tage Thompson, and Quinn Hughes -- they may have a shot.
If Crosby does return it will make for a storybook ending on what could be his final Olympics and to win it would be the stuff of legends and a closed doors practice might also be a sign they are seeing how things go with him and if he can suit up.
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| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 21|1430 ANSWERS Team Canada imposes a new restriction ahead of the gold medal game, Team USA doesn’t Who has the advantage heading into the gold medal game? | ||
| Team Canada | 654 | 45.7 % |
| Team USA | 260 | 18.2 % |
| Even Matchup | 516 | 36.1 % |
| List of polls | ||