Team USA rides high off their 2026 gold, with 19 roster spots primed for returnees like Matthews, Eichel, and the Tkachuk brothers still in their prime. Canada faces a roster shakeup, waving goodbye to Crosby at 42 and vets like Doughty while leaning on McDavid, MacKinnon, and young guns such as Bedard and Celebrini. Goalie battles loom large on both sides, from Oettinger and Swayman for the Americans to Thompson and wild cards like Cossa for the Canadians.

Team USA stares down Canada in a gold-medal showdown packed with NHL's fastest blades and deepest talent, flipping the script from last year's 4 Nations heartbreak. Jack Hughes dances through chaos after a tooth-rattling high stick, while Connor Hellebuyck stones 41 shots and turns Nathan MacKinnon's gaping-net chance into legend. Canada bleeds no regrets, with Drew Doughty calling it the best game he's ever played, but these stakes echo through every NHL locker room back home.

Team USA claims Olympic gold for the first time since Miracle '80, while NHL vets Drew Doughty and Darcy Kuemper snag silver with their squads and Joel Armia grabs bronze in a medal bonanza. These guys balance national pride with club contracts, fueling GM war rooms plotting summer moves around Olympic glow-ups. Front offices already dissect how this hardware shifts trade values and extension talks as the NHL season resumes.

A photo from the heated USA-Canada gold medal clash captures Quinn Hughes and Drew Doughty trading blows, sending social media into a frenzy as fans relive the bad blood. These two NHL blue-liners know each other's games inside out from years of divisional wars, but Olympic stakes turned rivalry into raw scraps. The image underscores how personal this border battle got before the final horn.

Kings blueliner Drew Doughty takes the ice for Team USA in the high-stakes Olympic gold medal battle. The veteran puck-mover, who's thrived in big games from Stanley Cups to international showdowns, anchors the defense against Canada's onslaught. Tune in as his experience clashes with northern firepower, influencing narratives back in LA.

Drew Doughty eyes a slice of NHL immortality as Team Canada squares off against Team USA for Olympic gold on Day 10. The Kings blueliner, who's carried LA's back end for years, stands on the brink of a feat few defensemen ever touch in these high-stakes international battles. With front offices back home holding their breath during the trade freeze, this showdown carries extra weight for a league that's paused everything for the medals.