Keys to the Olympic women’s hockey final

MILAN – Canada and the United States will meet in the Olympic women’s hockey final for a seventh time — and for the fifth straight Games — on Thursday at the Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

Canada holds a 4-2 edge over the United States in Olympic finals, but the Americans enter as favourites. They’re riding a seven-game win streak against their rivals, including a 5-0 shutout in a Group A game.

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Here are the keys to the game for both countries:

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CANADA

Puck management: Protect it and move it quickly.

Get inside: Generate more close-range scoring chances working the puck down low.

Goaltender: Need Ann-Renée Desbiens on her 2022 Olympic form.

Captain Clutch: A Marie-Philip Poulin goal energizes her teammates.

UNITED STATES

Pressure: Use speed to harry Canada off the puck.

The middle: Continue steering Canadian puck carriers to the boards when they cross the offensive blue line.

Goaltender: Aerin Frankel’s tracking will be tested with a lot of big bodies from both countries in front of her.

Good Knight: The U.S. is highly motivated to win gold for captain Hilary Knight in her Olympic swan song.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 18, 2026.