USA vs. Canada Women's Hockey: How to Watch, Lineups, Keys

The stage is set for one of the most classic matchups in international hockey. Team USA and Team Canada face off in the Gold Medal Game on Thursday afternoon at 1:10 PM from Milan, Italy.

From the start of the 2026 Winter Olympics, the expectation was that Team USA and Team Canada would meet once again in women's hockey, a matchup that has happened six times since women's hockey was introduced at the Winter Olympics in 1998. Canada has five gold medals overall at the Winter Olympics, four coming against the US. The US has won two golds in 1998 and 2018.

Team USA looks to finish its dominant Olympic run, having won all four preliminary games before victories over Italy in the Quarterfinals and Sweden in the Semifinals. Canada had a 3-1 record in preliminary play, the only loss coming to Team USA, before wins against Germany in the Quarterfinals and Switzerland in the Semifinals.

How to Watch

Time: 1:10 PM
Location: Milano Santagiulia IHO in Milan, Itay
TV: USA Network
Streaming: Peacock

Projected Team USA Lines vs. Canada

Forwards

17 Britta Curl-Salemme - 21 Hilary Knight - 25 Alex Carpenter
23 Hannah Bilka- 27 Taylor Heise - 37 Abbey Murphy
12 Kelly Pannek - 13 Grace Zumwinkle - 26 Kendall Coyne Schofield
9 Kirsten Simms - 22 Tessa Janecke - 24 Joy Dunne
16 Hayley Scamurra

Defense

5 Megan Keller - 10 Laila Edwards
4 Caroline Harvey - 8 Haley Winn
2 Lee Stecklein - 3 Cayla Barnes
6 Rory Guilday

Goalies

31 Aerin Frankel
33 Gwyneth Philips

Scratches: 30 Ava McNaughton

Opponent Snapshot: Team Canada

Team Record: 3-1 in preliminary play, 5-1 in Olympics
Who’s hot?: After being shutout by Team USA in preliminary play, Team Canada outscored opponents, 12-2, on the way to the Gold Medal Game. Marie-Philip Poulin has scored the last three goals for Canada. Daryl Watts has a goal and four assists in the last three games.
Who's in goal?: Ann-Renee Desbiens is expected back in goal for Team Canada.
Injuries: Team Canada gets a huge boost from their previous meeting with Team USA in preliminary play. Poulin returned for the Quarterfinals and scored both goals in the 2-1 Semifinal win over Switzerland.

Keys to the Game

Youth Movement: There's been a clear changing of the guard for Team USA, with many of its younger players stepping into the spotlight. It's helped put them on the cusp of greatness at these Winter Olympics.
Forget the Previous Meeting: Team USA handed Team Canada a dominant 5-0 loss. Poulin didn't play in that game, and Canada looked nothing like usual. But that was preliminary play. This is the Gold Medal Game. Team USA should expect a much tighter battle.
Remain Relentless: Team USA can attribute much of its success this year to relentless play with and around the puck. They are an active forechecking team and essentially cut the ice in half to wear down the opposition. Maintain that same relentless approach, and a third gold medal in Olympic history is within reach.

By the Numbers

Team USA women's hockey has outscored their opponents, 31-1, in the 2026 Winter Olympics. The only goal against came in USA's opening game against Czechia at 8:37 of the second period.
Team USA's shutout streak is at 331:23 entering Thursday's Gold Medal Game.
Six members of Team USA's roster and 10 members of Team Canada's roster played in the 2018 Gold Medal Game, the last time Team USA won gold.

X-Factor

Team USA: Hilary Knight, the captain for Team USA, is appearing in her fifth and final Olympic games. Her 14 goals in Olympic play is tied for a US record. She has two goals and five points in this year's Olympics.
Team Canada: Marie-Philip Poulin, otherwise known as Captain Clutch, has been the centerpiece of Canada's success in women's hockey over the years. Poulin scored both goals in Canada's gold-medal win in 2010. In 2014, she scored the game-tying goal in the final minute of the third period and the golden goal in overtime. In 2022, she scored twice in the Gold Medal Game for Canada.

Kevin Durso is Flyers insider for 97.3 ESPN. Follow him on social media @Kevin_Durso.