All Eyes on Sidney Crosby Ahead of USA-Canada Men’s Hockey Final

Posted on: February 21, 2026, 01:38h. 

Last updated on: February 21, 2026, 01:38h.

Mark Keast Read More
Expertise: Canadian Gaming, iGaming, Las Vegas, Sports Betting, NFL, Boxing, UFC.
  • Canada slight betting favourite ahead of tomorrow’s Olympic gold medal hockey game against USA
  • Canada captain Sidney Crosby, dealing with a lower body injury, a game time decision
  • Early start tomorrow will impact betting volume

Odds are tight for tomorrow morning’s Olympic gold medal men’s hockey showdown between the U.S. and Canada, with USA’s Brady Tkachuk nicely summing up the rivalry in what will be the biggest hockey games of the players’ lives.

Brady Tkachuk of Team United States celebrates after scoring a goal during the Men’s Semifinal between the U.S. and Slovakia at the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena yesterday in Milan, Italy. (Image: Elsa/Getty Images)

There’s hatred there,” he told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan. “They’ve been the top dog, they’ve been the best for the past bunch of years, and for us, we wanna be in that position. We wanna be the best. It’s gonna be a game where I think a lot of guys can say this is the biggest game that they’ve ever played in.”

Intense Rivalry

The availability of Canada’s captain Sidney Crosby, who suffered what appeared to be a serious knee injury in the quarterfinal win over Czechia, is the over-riding storyline. Going into the tournament, Canada’s lineup featured a three-headed monster of centremen, led by Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Crosby. The Crosby injury threw all that out of whack, even leading to Canada coach Jon Cooper loading up a line with McDavid, MacKinnon, and 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini.

Kaplan reported that it sounded probable that Crosby would play tomorrow. Canada has been holding closed practices, no doubt in large part so Crosby could test the knee. Crosby skated with the team at today’s practice. Defenceman Josh Morrissey has been ruled out for tomorrow.

Oddsmakers are following the Crosby storyline closely as well. This could also be a game where McDavid, the best player in the world, goes nuclear. Will USA captain Auston Matthews, who has struggled to produce with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs over the past decade in big-time playoff games, finally have his golden moment in a big game? And who has the edge among the starting goalies – Team USA’s Connor Hellebuyck or Canada’s Jordan Binnington?

Canada is a slight favourite, scanning the sportsbooks.

Betting Lines Tight

The USA is looking to score its first gold medal in Olympic men’s hockey since the Miracle on Ice 1980 team at Lake Placid, plus they are looking to avenge the overtime loss in the final game of last winter’s emotional 4 Nations Face-Off.

At DraftKings in Ontario, Canada is -125, the USA is at +105. The puckline is Canada -1.5 (+215) and the U.S. +1.5 (-265), with Over 5.5 (+130) and Under 5.5 (-155). At FanDuel in Ontario, Canada is -122, the USA is at +102. The puckline is Canada -1.5 (+205) and the U.S. +1.5 (-260), with Over 5.5 (+128) and Under 5.5 (-158).

National bias in-play here (think Jays/Dodgers in the World Series) and it is apparent in the odds,” said Phill Gray, the former head of sports betting operations at Sports Interaction, and sports betting industry consultant. “Stateside right now the game is a pick’em, in Canada there is very slight edge at -111. Looking at Ontario books Canada is as far out as -130 at some, certainly reflecting the bet count which is overwhelming Canadian. USA at +108 or better is certainly good value as I see the game as a true pick’em.

Crosby a Game Time Decision

“Crosby being a game time decision and how effective he can be if he plays obviously skews the line. If indeed he is out, I’d expect a flurry of USA money even in Canada at that price and that will move the line. It will be a short window though as the announcement will be very close to puck drop, I imagine. The in-play line would be up though so I would expect USA to flip to a short fav from the start.”

At theScore Bet so far, 38.3% of bets, 69.1% of handle are on Canada -1.5, 64.8% of bets, 62.7% of handle are on USA ML, and 45.7% of bets, 60.8% of handle are on Under 5.5

That early start time (8:10 a.m. EST) is going to impact betting as well, Gray added.

“In terms of volume it’s certainly a marquee event, however I would say significantly less than would have been expected given the start time,” he said. “Generally, most events take over half their volume in the few hours before kickoff, so that early start will have an impact.”