NHL’s best this week: Who would win between Olympic B-teams of U.S., Canada?

This past week, the official Olympic men’s hockey rosters for Sweden, Finland, Canada and the U.S. were revealed. One of the biggest questions we ask when these best-on-best squads drop is: Who was the biggest snub? Inevitably, lists of at least five to six players will be generated (often in bite-sized, convenient format) for armchair GMs to parse and poke around.

I’d like to take this exercise one step further but with a left turn: Team Canada snubs vs. Team USA snubs. Specifically, who would win a best-of-seven series between those teams? Imagine the “best of the rest” from both countries in a championship series.

First, let’s define how these teams will be assembled:

• 12 forwards, 6 defense, 2 goalies

• Obviously, players cannot have been named to the United States or Canada teams

• “Nice guy, tries hard, loves the game” is a factor

• I’m being loose with injury status

Note: Players are arranged alphabetically by position group.

Team Canada

Forwards: Drake Batherson, Connor Bedard, Sam Bennett, Morgan Geekie, Dylan Guenther, Zach Hyman, Seth Jarvis, Wyatt Johnston, Travis Konecny, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Mark Scheifele, Carter Verhaeghe

Defensemen: Evan Bouchard, Jakob Chychrun, Noah Dobson, Aaron Ekblad, Matthew Schaefer, MacKenzie Weegar

Goaltenders: Mackenzie Blackwood, Scott Wedgewood

Team Canada has a good mix of talent, size, depth, grit and “in your face” agitation — Sam Bennett and the USA’s Jacob Trouba would be circling each other like sharks seeing blood. With Bedard and Schaefer, the Great White North also has a glimpse into two faces that could very well help define Canada’s Olympic future — even if Macklin Celebrini is the “next one” representative on the 2026 roster.

There is plenty of “high-pressure experience” on this team, with multiple players having made a trip (or two or three) to a Stanley Cup Final or earning a ring (or two). Goaltending, like with the squad going to the Olympics, will always be the big question, but the Avs duo has been great this season.

play

Zach Hyman scores goal for Oilers

Zach Hyman lights the lamp for Oilers

Team USA

Forwards: Cole Caufield, Logan Cooley, Alex DeBrincat, Cutter Gauthier, Patrick Kane, Matthew Knies, Chris Kreider, Shane Pinto, Jason Robertson, Nick Schmaltz, Alex Tuch, Trevor Zegras

Defensemen: John Carlson, Adam Fox, Lane Hutson, Jackson LaCombe, K’Andre Miller, Jacob Trouba

Goaltenders: Thatcher Demko, Spencer Knight

Team USA has a young core group full of elite offensive talent, which would be steered by the veteran presence of Patrick Kane, who will help bolster special teams and the shootout (if it got there or existed in this hypothetical scenario). The Stars and Stripes also has an offensive-minded D corps capable of taking control of a play at a moment’s notice — Hutson could have one of those breakout MVP-style series in a series like this.

Demko and Knight are terrific goalies performing well on struggling teams.

Who wins the series?

My prediction: USA in 7. Canada wins Games 1 and 2, then the USA fights back to win Game 3 in a blowout. Canada goes up 3-1 by winning Game 4 in double OT, then the USA win Game 5 comfortably then Game 6 in OT; Robertson scores the winner off an incredible Hutson stretch pass).

In the final contest, the U.S. wins a tight, defensively minded battle by a final score of 3-1, with DeBrincat potting the dagger empty-netter.

Jump ahead:
Games of the week
What I loved this weekend
Hart Trophy candidates
Social post of the week
Stick taps

Biggest games of the week

The Buffalo Sabres are the team I have my eye on the most this week. Their loss Saturday snapped a 10-game winning streak and they’re squarely in the playoff mix. The vibes are high because of all the Ws, but also because of the Tage Thompson redemption arc, being named to Team USA at the Olympics after being one of the biggest Four Nations snubs.

I have said this before, and I will keep saying it: there is no place in North America that deserves a major sports championship for their fan base more than the city of Buffalo.

Alex Lyon has been incredible during this stretch, and his recent lower-body injury is a big blow to the team. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has stepped up in a big way in the crease and noted that the team has a renewed sense of confidence even when trailing. “That’s been the story of the whole winning streak — if we fall behind, it doesn’t faze us,” the goalie told reporters.

Coach Lindy Ruff highlighted the buy-in from players, including rookie Noah Ostlund.

“A guy like Ostlund, who got in front of a shot when it was 4-1 (against Dallas on New Year’s Eve). … The desperation inside the game. The wall battles I thought were real good. It was like a playoff game. It was two good teams playing hockey,” Ruff told reporters.

This week the Sabres play the Vancouver Canucks (the second-lowest team in the standings) in Buffalo on Tuesday, then meet up with the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden (where the Rangers have struggled all season) on Thursday, followed by hosting the Anaheim Ducks (2-6-2 in their last 10) on Saturday. Three winnable games — will it be the start of a new winning streak?

Other key games to watch

MONDAY

7 p.m. ET | ESPN+

TUESDAY

7 p.m. ET | ESPN+

7 p.m. ET | ESPN+

7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+/Hulu

WEDNESDAY

7 p.m. ET | TNT/HBO Max

THURSDAY

7 p.m. ET | ESPN+

8 p.m. ET | ESPN+/Hulu

SATURDAY

1 p.m. ET | ABC

4 p.m. ET | ESPN+

7 p.m. ET | ESPN+

7 p.m. ET | ESPN+

8 p.m. ET | ESPN+

SUNDAY

8 p.m. | NHL Network

What I loved this weekend

I spent a considerable amount of time this weekend thinking about a debate that spawned from the Winter Classic. There was something hilarious about Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk, both injured and unable to play in the Classic, dressed up (like the rest of the team did for their arrivals) in “Miami Vice” attire, and dancing it up on stage with the Stanley Cup:

Barkov and Tkachuk dance with the Stanley Cup at Winter Classic intermission 👀

🎥: @Sportsnet pic.twitter.com/11oxwuzub1

— Hockey Night in Canada (@hockeynight) January 3, 2026

Grant me one “old man yells at cloud” moment about this; in the realm of “hockey players are superstitious,” a lot of people would place this next to the “don’t touch the Cup” rule at the start of the season. So seeing Barkov and Tkachuk in this situation (even if it was all obviously part of the show) was a little bizarre, because they will be helping their team compete for a third straight Cup in a few months.

You tell me: if you are the reigning Stanley Cup champions, according to the laws of “don’t touch the Cup,” should those championship players be allowed to do something like this? Or is this condemning the Panthers to a failed three-peat attempt? Let me know!

Hart Trophy candidates if the season ended today

Big shock here: Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid are Nos. 1-2 here. MacKinnon and the Avs have 69 points through 40 games — i.e., 11 more than the next closest team (the Dallas Stars) in 43. McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers have overcome their annual slow start and are on top of the Pacific Division. MacKinnon’s 74 points lead the race for the Art Ross Trophy; McDavid is second, with 72.

This will be a fun battle to watch the rest of the season. Nate has 13 points in his past four games and McDavid, fresh off a ridiculous “500 hockey-IQ assist” to Hyman against the Bruins, had a “quiet” 13 points in his past six games.

Celebrini is third at 63 points and became the youngest player to ever be named to Team Canada in the NHL player era at the Olympics.

He has an active 10-game point-scoring streak, with 20 points during that heater. Go off, kid!

Social media post of the weekend

WWE’s “Smackdown” was in Buffalo on Friday, and Randy Orton returned while sporting a WWE x Sabres crossover shirt. “RKO Everybody,” nice. The WWE x NHL collab merch has been on fire lately, especially the localized pieces.

WWE’s @RandyOrton reppin’ the @BuffaloSabres 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/1BnQI3smpT

— KeyBank Center (@KeyBankCtr) January 3, 2026

Stick taps

The Washington Capitals have been on point with their “player arrivals” content this season (look no further than the “Ovechkin rapper” fits from earlier this season).

On Saturday, players walked in with youth hockey players from the community. Players got matched with a player from a different team in the D.C.-Maryland-Virginia) area.

One of the girls, Ayşe, represented her Montgomery Youth Hockey Association U8 league, wearing matching jerseys with Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary:

This is such a nice gesture from the team and players to the community. Those kids now have a core memory and their parents — who certainly don’t get enough credit for bringing them to practices and games, airing out their equipment at home, lacing skates, carrying bags and don’t even get me started on the tournaments — were no doubt beaming with pride.