Six people are heading back to Las Vegas in a few days. It’s going to be a long flight back for some of them.
They’re playing the last game of the men’s hockey tournament of the Winter Olympics on Sunday. That’s early Sunday (5:10 a.m.) if you’re in the Pacific time zone.
It’s the pinnacle of why NHL players lobbied to return to best-on-best competition for so long.
On the other hand, it’s the United States and Canada. It’s the most charged rivalry in hockey.
The physical grind await the five Vegas Golden Knights players taking part in the most highly-anticipated hockey game in recent memory.
The mental anguish is likely weighing on coach Bruce Cassidy’s mind, as well, even as an assistant coach for Canada.
Team USA and Canada will face each other one more time — this time, for the gold — when they meet at Santagiulia Arena in Milan.
It’s the third time since NHL players began taking part in 1998 that USA and Canada are meeting for gold.
It’s been a one-sided rivalry. Canada is 2-0 in those gold medal games. Three if you count the 4 Nations Face-Off championship last year.
The last time Team USA won a notable game against Canada was the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
“It’s two of probably the best teams ever, maybe,” U.S. winger Matthew Tkachuk said. “We’ve got a lot of respect for the players over there and what they’ve done in the past, and we want to be the team that comes out on top.”
Knights captain Mark Stone, winger Mitch Marner, defenseman Shea Theodore and Cassidy are looking for their first gold medal.
Center Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin are vying for Team USA’s first gold since the Miracle on Ice team from 1980.
Best-on-best has been Canada’s playing field. Their gold medals in 2010 and 2014 were the last times the NHL had a presence internationally.
“It hasn’t been the smoothest quarters and semis for us,” said Canada’s Connor McDavid, the leading scorer at the Olympics with an NHL player-record 13 points. “But I think that adversity is good. Going through that has brought us closer. You can definitely feel that in the group, it’s been been fun to play in those games.”
One look at the roster and it’s not hard to understand why.
Stone, Marner and Theodore are three of the most important cogs on the Knights’ machine. On Team Canada, they’re the role players.
Cassidy is normally the one calling which lines to hop over the boards. He’s had to be more reserved while coaching the power play for Canada.
Eichel, even as the No. 1 center for Team USA, is averaging around 16 minutes a game. Hanifin rotates as a seventh defenseman, not knowing when he’ll see the ice.
Egos are put to the side in Olympic competition. They have to be with there being so much talent in one gathering.
Each player has had their moments throughout the tournament. Goals have been scored. Highlight-reel plays have been made.
A game will be played bright and early Sunday. Medals will be presented. Some players will be happy. Others will be disappointed.
Before you know it, the Knights will return to start their mad dash to the NHL finish line. Twenty-five games remain between Wednesday and the end of the season.
They’ve got to get through, for some of them, the biggest game of their lives first.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Canada vs. USA
When: 5:10 a.m. Sunday
Where: Santagiulia Arena, Milan
TV: NBC, Peacock
Line: Canada -115; toatl 5