MILAN, Feb 21 (Reuters) - Canada and the United States open a fresh chapter in their epic Olympic rivalry in Milan on Sunday, facing off in a heaven-sent gold-medal game that North American fans were praying for in the men's ice hockey tournament.
The National Hockey League could scarcely have written a better script when they agreed to send their players back to the Games for the first time in 12 years, with the world's foremost ice hockey powerhouse nations facing off with their all-NHL rosters.
For Canada, the final represents a chance to underline their legacy and bring home a 10th gold to the country that originated the sport and regards it as a national religion.
For the United States, it offers a chance at revenge, 16 years after Canada denied them the top of the podium in overtime heartbreak and 46 years since they last claimed Olympic gold.
"NHL players have not had the ability to play in the Olympics since 2014, that's 12 years. Some of these kids were in diapers then," Canada coach Jon Cooper said, referring to the Sochi Games.
“They’ve never been part of this. There is so much pride. The hockey has been so great and so close. That’s why the Olympics are unique. There is nothing like it in the world."
GOLD MEDAL IS 'EVERYTHING' IN HEAVYWEIGHT BOUT
Both teams confidently marched through the group stage, providing little intrigue in what at first appeared to be an inevitable trip to the championship game.
That narrative got obliterated in the quarter-finals, where each team faced a major overtime test that nearly derailed their respective campaigns, as Canada clawed back from a deficit against the Czech Republic and the United States kept their cool after Sweden netted the equaliser with just 91 seconds in regulation.
Their paths diverged at Friday's semi-final stage, where the United States easily cruised by Slovakia 6-2 while Canada had a harder time holding off the defending champions Finland without their injured captain Sidney Crosby.
Cooper said on Friday that it was too soon to say whether Crosby, who left the ice during their quarter-final match with an unspecified injury, would return for the final.
Either way, Canada can expect to rely on the absurd talent of 29-year-old future Hall of Famer Connor McDavid - the points leader through five games with two goals and 11 assists - and the prodigy 10 years his junior Macklin Celebrini, who poured in five goals. They also have the NHL's leading goal-scorer in Nathan MacKinnon as an added bonus.
"It’s everything. It’s the gold medal at an Olympic Games," said MacKinnon, a forward for the Colorado Avalanche. "We are very lucky to be here and it’s a great opportunity. We have got to be ready."
The United States, uninterested in handing more golden hardware to their neighbours to the North, will hope to replicate the success of their female counterparts, who beat Canada for gold in a thrilling women's final on Thursday.
Quinn Hughes, the tournament's highest-scoring defenceman with a goal and six assists, will hope to make winning a family affair for the United States with his brother, Jack, who has contributed three goals and three assists through five games.
"We believe this is the best group in the whole tournament and the best group in the world," said Jack Hughes, who scored twice in Friday's 6-2 win over Slovakia. "We are proud Americans, and we are excited to have a chance at the gold medal."
(Reporting by Amy Tennery, Trevor Stynes, Giulio Piovaccari and Lori Ewing in Milan; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
