Friends to foes: NHL teammates to square off in Canada vs. USA gold medal match

[p]Nearly 150 players from the NHL came to ‌compete in Milan, with the top-flight league participating in the Games ‌for the first time since 2014, and 50 remain in the hunt ‌for gold as one of the Winter Games' great rivalries is ‌renewed.[/p][p][b]"It makes it harder," [/b]said [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/canada/dSsR389c/"]Canada[/a] forward [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/reinhart-sam/v9aXowSM/"]Sam Reinhart[/a], whose [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/florida-panthers/fc1eq8Pp/"]Florida Panthers[/a] teammate [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/tkachuk-matthew/fcgSUij4/"]Matthew Tkachuk[/a] is an alternate captain with the [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/usa/GYgp4SO3/"]United States[/a]. [b]"You know how competitive ‌they are, you know how nice it is ⁠to have them on your ‌team when the games get the tightest."[/b][/p][p]All 32 NHL teams were represented on ​the four semi-final rosters, which included [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/finland/rRWMzYQu/"]Finland[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/slovakia/ruzLVmAN/"]Slovakia[/a], in the kind of showcase that the league hoped for when ​it announced two years ago that it would permit its players to compete in Milan.[/p][p]For the NHL's top goal-scorer, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/mackinnon-nathan/dhMyX3sE/"]Nathan MacKinnon[/a], putting ⁠professional allegiances on ice has ​been easy in Milan.[/p][p][b]"You have new teammates right now," [/b]said the Canadian forward, who will be on the other side of the ice from his [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/colorado-avalanche/hACAnvBa/"]Colorado Avalanche[/a] teammate, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/nelson-brock/0lwG9VI6/"]Brock Nelson[/a], on Sunday.[/p][p][b]"New teammates, new brothers, ‌in this short amount of time we've become really close."[/b][/p][p]MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal with 30 seconds left for Canada to earn a 3-2 win over Finland during Friday's semi-finals matchup. [/p][embed guid="648eb550-b33c-4a0f-b422-8ea15bd15cb2" url="https://x.com/NBCOlympics/status/2024911908113969594?s=20" social-type="twitter" /][p]The NHL rode into the Milano Cortina Games on a high, with average viewership on ESPN and ABC up 39% year-over-year through the first four months of the season, buoyed by bankable stars and the TV and pop-culture hockey sensation "Heated Rivalry."[/p][p]The men's tournament had not even begun when the IOC signalled its hope that players from the elite North American league would become a feature of future editions.[/p][p]The final between ‌the two great rivals - which many oddsmakers and armchair experts alike predicted - ​can only kick the enthusiasm to another level, as the ‌United States seek their third gold and Canada chase their 10th in the men's tournament.[/p][p][b]"We're all competitors and we want to win," [/b]said U.S. forward [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/eichel-jack/roOYYdOm/"]Jack Eichel[/a], who will see his [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/vegas-golden-knights/fTT0TsUg/"]Vegas Golden Knights[/a] teammates [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/marner-mitchell/Agmv3YoI/"]Mitch Marner[/a], [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/stone-mark/02z8HDV4/"]Mark Stone[/a], and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/theodore-shea/zwr54Xsd/"]Shea Theodore[/a] ⁠on the Canada bench.[b] "We can go ⁠back to being teammates ‌after the game."[/b][/p][p]Eichel scored in the team's 6-2 win over Slovakia during Friday's semi-finals.[/p][embed guid="ed4f669c-4766-4b47-b309-5b73858d818b" url="https://x.com/NBCOlympics/status/2024962073604591702?s=20" social-type="twitter" /]