Sunday’s gold medal hockey final between the United States and Canada is expected to be a ratings bonanza for NBC.
Starting Sunday at 8:10 a.m., on NBC and streaming on Peacock, the game features the much-anticipated battle between the two dominant hockey countries, who punched their tickets Friday to the final at the 2026 Milano Cortina Games.
Team USA advanced with a 6-2 win over Slovakia in a semifinal on Friday. Detroit Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin (Waterford) scored a goal, Jack Hughes (Canton) added a pair of goals, Zach Werenski (Grosse Pointe) had three assists and Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce Township) made 22 saves.
In the other semifinal, Team Canada rallied from a 2-0 deficit to beat Finland, 3-2. Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid set a record for most points in a single Winter Olympics during the NHL era. The three-time NHL MVP assisted on two goals and leads all skaters with 13 points.
Viewership is already nearly double from the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing, China. The opening ceremony this year averaged 21.4 million viewers and the U.S.-Canada women’s hockey gold medal game set a new record with 5.3 million viewers. Farmington Hills’ Megan Keller scored the winner for a 2-1 OT victory.
The last time the U.S. and Canada faced off was at the 2025 4 Nations Face-off. More than 16 million viewers tuned in across North America for the final in Boston, making it the most-watched NHL-sanctioned game in decades. Larkin scored a goal in the preliminary-game victory over Canada in Montreal.
It’s also the first men’s hockey final at the Olympics between the U.S. and Canada since the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. In the U.S., NBC averaged 27.6 million viewers. In Canada, nearly half of the 34 million population at the time (16.6 million) watched Sidney Crosby score the winner in overtime. Crosby was injured and did not play in Friday’s semifinal. His status for Sunday’s final is uncertain.
Olympic showdown
What: Olympics men’s hockey final between United States vs. Canada
When: Sunday, 8:10 a.m.
Where: Santagiulia Arena, Milan, Italy
TV: NBC and streaming on Peacock
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: How to watch the Olympic gold medal hockey game between U.S. and Canada
Reporting by The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
