MILAN — It all comes down to this.<\/p>\n
The United States and Canada will play for the gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 on Sunday (8:10 a.m. ET; Peacock, NBC, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC, SN [JIP], TSN [JIP], RDS2).<\/p>\n
It will be the sixth time the two hockey superpowers will meet at an Olympics with NHL players, Canada holding a 4-1 lead.<\/p>\n
Who will bring the gold home from Italy?<\/p>\n
Also, who will win the bronze medal game between Finland and Slovakia?<\/p>\n
The eight editors and writers from NHL.com and NHL.com\/International here reveal their predictions for both games:<\/p>\n
Andrew Ardini, Director of Production, NHL.com International<\/p>\n
Gold medal game
Prediction: Canada 3, United States 1
Why: I predicted Canada way back when the tournament started, so let\u2019s stick with it. Canada gets what seemingly no one can lately — an empty-net goal to clinch the gold.<\/p>\n
Bronze medal game
Prediction: Slovakia 4, Finland 3
Why: Winning an Olympic medal for the first time was a huge deal four years ago for Slovakia. That motivation will still be there for the Slovaks, who get their first medal with NHL players involved.<\/p>\n
JF Chaumont, LNH.com senior writer<\/p>\n