Tonight is the night. USA versus Canada. The Border War. The battle of two teams comprised of all NHL players. The underdog United States faces off tonight against the heavily favored, and host Canadians.
What's at stake? A birth in the quarterfinals. When the Olympic hockey schedule was released, this game was circled immediately. The United States currently leads group A with 6 points, while Canada is in 2nd, with 5 points.
Canada is coming into this game on the heels of a hard fought, shoot-out victory against Switzerland on Thursday night. They could come into this game in a foul mood after being taken to extra time against the Swiss.
On paper, Canada should dominate, as they have the deepest team in this years Olympics. As we all know, games aren't played on paper. United States GM Brian Burke, decided to bring a very young and inexperienced team to Vancouver. Burke went a different way this year, because the veteran team that was in Torino in 2006, finished a dismal eighth. As I stated in my Olympic hockey preview a couple of days ago, things could go very bad or very good.
So far in this tournament, very good. Granted the team has made some errors, but they have had great goaltending and solid scoring. The United States knows that their margin of error shrinks dramatically in this game.
The United States hasn't defeated Canada in the Olympics since 1960. This Border Battle was intensified when the United States defeated Canada in the Gold Medal game at the World Junior Championships in Saskatoon, earlier this year.
This should be a very good game and it will definitely be a great game to watch. I think Canada has a little more depth and experience and will use that to their advantage. Don't count the "kids" from the States out though, as their spirited play could cause the upset.
Prediction: Canada 4 United States 3
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