The Washington Capitals have a very important stretch of games upcoming, but the start of Sunday’s practice might be a bit relaxed due to the 2026 Olympics Gold Medal Game between Canada and the USA, which starts at 8 am ET. Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson are members of the Canada squad, inspiring even some American Caps players to cheer them on.
Capitals practice is scheduled to start at 10:30 tomorrow, but the players might get on the ice late, per the team.
“We’ll see what happens,” Dylan Strome said after Saturday’s skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. “I think Canadian in Carbs (head coach Spencer Carbery), hopefully, we won’t start practice until that game’s over.”
“Yeah, we’ll probably alter the time based on when it finishes up, so we may have to push it back a little bit…we’ll alter the practice schedule so that everybody can watch it right to the bitter end,” Carbery said in agreement.
Pierre-Luc Dubois believed that if the start time wasn’t pushed back, Carbery might have a mutiny on his hands.
“I think a lot of guys — we would have had a lot of guys calling sick if we had a 10:30 practice,” Dubois said, smiling. “But yeah, it doesn’t happen very often, and it doesn’t happen very often that you have two friends in that game and two teammates, so it’s going to be a special game to watch.”
As for who will be watching, Strome said, “I’m assuming it’s going to be pretty much the whole team.”
But where?
“I think it’ll probably be on in four different spots, in our locker room, so I’ll probably mill around all of them,” Carbery explained. “It’ll be on in the coach’s office. It’ll be on in the lounge.”
“Yeah, it’ll be great,” Ryan Leonard said. “We’ve been throwing it on… all the games, the women’s games. It’s been super entertaining, and there’s been a lot of energy and buzz around it. But tomorrow is the best, so we’ll all be very excited.”
Strome, a Mississauga, Ontario native, predicted a “good hockey game” between the two hockey titans.
“I feel like this is what everyone wanted to see, right?” Strome said. ” I’m assuming a low-scoring, tight-checking type game, and probably similar to the 4 Nations final, but a little bit more on the line.”
As for a prediction, Strome believed his home country would ultimately be the victor, with former juniors teammate Connor McDavid scoring the game-winning goal.
“I’m going to go 3-2 Canada,” Strome said. “Either late goal or OT. I think it’s not going to be OT, though. 3-2 Canada, I’ll say.
“I think it’s going to be a 2010 rewrite. That’s what I’m hoping for,” he said, knocking on the wood of the locker room bench. “Hopefully Crosby can play, and hopefully we get the gold.”
“I got Canada for sure, 100 percent,” Connor McMichael said in agreement.
“I think — obviously if Sid doesn’t play, that’s a tough pill to swallow — but for Canada, I think it’s just their depth,” he added. “You look at all four of their lines. They’ve got four first lines in the National Hockey League out there. Same thing with the States, but we’ll see if Binner can step it up again and make some big saves.”
Meanwhile, other players felt the two teams were so evenly matched, they couldn’t even offer a prediction.
“I honestly think it has the potential to be the best hockey game of all time,” said goaltender Charlie Lindgren. “I think the US is probably pissed at the way 4 Nations ended last year, so I think they’re going to be fired up, and then you look at you know the two rosters together. I mean, it’s 40 of the best hockey players in the whole world, so I think it’s going to be extremely fun to watch. I’m looking forward to it.”
While everyone was excited about the game — Lindgren predicted it would be “the fastest hockey game of all time” — there were some players who are more interested in the result than others.
“Stromer, Lappy, big Team Canada fans. McMichael, big,” Brandon Duhaime said. “So, yeah, John’s rooting USA, for sure. So there could be some trips back and forth in the watch party, for sure.”
Carbery also believed there’ll be some chirping — especially from players not from the United States or Canada, who have nothing on the line.
“I’m just imagining Sandin throwing his two cents in there,” Carbery said of the team’s Swedish defenseman.
“I feel like there’s some that like the banter and like the back and forth,” he added, “and then there’s some that just want to be left alone and don’t need anything from the peanut gallery. So, yeah, it’ll be interesting to see who congregates where watching the game.”
While practice could be pushed back, McMichael believed there could be another possibility, too.
“Hopefully it’s a blowout so we can just go on the ice early,” he said, hoping the Canadians make it a laugher.
