Well the juiciest matchup possible, at least for the western hemisphere just couldn’t wait for the gold medal game in Sochi. This isn’t to say that the gold medal matchup won’t be the most spectacular game of the tournament, but USA-Canada is simply dripping with the kind of subplots that will seem appropriate for daytime television.

I would love to say that the United States has waited four years to avenge their 2010 Olympic loss, but that simply isn’t true. In fact, this is nothing more than a really, REALLY good hockey game. Sure it provides bragging rights for North American and possibly global supremacy, but let’s be honest, the guys wearing the stars and stripes and the guys wearing the red and white (or possibly the bad-ass black with gold and red trim if Canada decides to drop the alternate sweaters on America) simply want to win.

After all, there are a lot of teammates that will be playing against one another tomorrow so if there is hatred between the two national teams it is probably the result of an NHL rivalry more than a nationalist gripe. What has made the tournament interesting so far has been the relative parity throughout, including a spirited quarterfinal match between the mighty Canadians and a very plucky Latvian squad.

While the Americans and Canada both made it through the round robin with matching five-point totals courtesy of two regulation wins and a shootout and overtime win respectively, it was the Americans that did so in much more dominating fashion. While Canada was, and still remains the prohibitive favorite to successfully defend their gold medal, they have been anything but impressive through their first four games.

Adding to the troubles of Team Canada was the loss of John Tavares who left the quarterfinal game with a lower body injury. Coach Mike Babcock confirmed that Tavares would miss the rest of the tournament. While Tavares could be headed back home early from Sochi, the world awaits the arrival of Sidney Crosby. The captain of team Canada has been conspicuously average through each of his first four games, as Babcock has shuffled line mates in an effort to spark his star center.

On the American side, Phil Kessel has made his presence felt throughout the tournament, registering a hat trick against Slovenia and leading the overall Olympic scoring table with eight points in four games. Kessel has teamed with Patrick Kane to form a dynamic combination that could make Canada’s (and Kane’s Chicago teammate) Jonathan Toews jealous.

The big question going into Friday’s high noon showdown will be who will start in goal for each team. Carey Price and Jonathan Quick seem to be the favorites for Babcock and his American counterpart Dan Bylsma. However, Roberto Luongo has made the most of his chances to play and could haunt the United States if he takes the ice. 2010’s Olympic MVP Ryan Miller has also been in good form which leaves each coach to agonize though there are no bad choices among the four.

Keys to the game: The United States has jumped all over the opposition early in each game. Not that the first goal guarantees a victory, but the U.S. seems to feed off the momentum and has looked dominant when they have played with the lead. On the other side, Canada has to get their forwards going. With all the firepower on the Canadian offense there is no good reason why their leading scorer should be Drew Doughty.

Prediction

 There is no way this game can be anything but a dramatic one goal game that will have a mad scramble and possibly a game tying goal with seconds on the clock. Of course the final will be 3-2. As much as it almost seems like a cliché, this game cannot be contained within 60 minutes and will require extra time. It won’t be decided by a shootout though. Ryan Kesler gets the winner in the last minute of overtime to avenge the heartbreak in Vancouver. Americans across the land will learn to love Ryan Kesler long enough to forget the name T.J Oshie and how much he meant to them less than a week ago.

United States 3 Canada 2 OT.