MILAN (AP) — Kelly Pannek couldn’t stop laughing, watching on TV when all heck broke loose during the U.S.-Canada game at the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago.
Three fights breaking out in the opening seconds led the U.S. national women’s team forward to reflect on how intense the border hockey rivalry has always been.
“Oh, I was cracking up,” Pannek said. “It was so funny, because you’re like, ‘Yep, welcome, world, to what this looks like.‘”
Though the men’s side has had its moments, the tensions and animosity — and level of respect — have been far more evident in the women’s game in what stands as one of the fiercest feuds in all of sports.
So get ready for the next installment Tuesday when defending Olympic champion Canada faces off against the United States in the preliminary round of the Milan Cortina Games.
“It’s gold or bust,” U.S. forward Kendall Coyne Schofield said. “That’s the stake. That’s the bar that we’ve set as a program. Anything less than a gold medal is a failure.”
The same holds true up north.
“There’s so much pride that comes with representing Team Canada that I don’t think you fully understand until you’re wearing that jersey on the bench and you’re ready to go,” Canadian forward Blayre Turnbull said.
“Especially against Team USA, our biggest rivals. So it’s,” Turnbull said, before a long pause, “it’s fun.”
Fun is one way of putting it.
Fights have broken out on various occasions. Many tears have been shed — joyous ones for the winners and heartbreak for the losers. It’s a feud that took off when the U.S. beat Canada to win gold at the 1998 Nagano Games, the first to feature women’s hockey.
Over that span, the nations have met a combined 48 times on the international stage, including world championship competition. Canada holds the edge with five Olympic and 13 world titles, to the Americans' two and 11.
A better indication of how tight the series has been is Canada’s 25-23 record, and having outscored the Americans by a combined margin of 135-133.
Uncertainty suddenly hovers over the game with Canadian captain Marie-Philip Poulin's status in question after she limped off the ice and did not return for the final two periods of a 5-1 win over Czechia. Coach Troy Ryan had no immediate update on Poulin's injury, and wasn't sure if she would be available to play Tuesday.
The Americans enter as tournament favorites. They’re the defending world champions after beating Canada 4-3 in overtime in April. And the U.S. has won six straight meetings, including a four-game sweep in the nations’ exhibition Rivalry Series in November and December.
Though series results aren’t generally an indicator of how the two global powers fare once a gold medal is on the line, the results raised eyebrows over a potential shift in power favoring the Americans.
The U.S. outscored Canada 24-7, including a 10-4 win which marked the most goals the Canadian women have ever allowed in international play.
The U.S. features a skilled and speedy team with a veteran leadership core, led by captain Hilary Knight, and collection of talented youth, with seven players still in college.
Canada’s roster is more experienced, returning 16 players from the team that dominated the 2022 Beijing Games by winning all seven games and outscoring its opposition 57-10.
The Canadians are fine with not being favored.
“I don’t think there’s anything bad about being an underdog and proving yourself,” forward Natalie Spooner said.
“I don’t think we’re thinking too much about those Rivalry Series and the outcome,” she added. “But I do think, obviously, when it comes down to a gold medal you’re going to play with a chip on your shoulder either way.”
The Americans are not buying into the hype.
“Honestly, it’s not something our team talks about,” defender Megan Keller said. “The goal for us is to bring home a gold medal, and it doesn’t matter who’s in our way.”
One twist this year is the U.S.-Canada matchup not being the preliminary round-closing game for both teams, as has traditionally happened in past international play.
The U.S., which is 3-0 after beating Switzerland on Monday, will complete its four-game schedule against Canada.
The Canadians are a game behind after their tournament opener against Finland was postponed after the Finns roster was depleted by a stomach virus. Canada opened with a 4-0 win over Switzerland and its game against Finland is set for Thursday, a day before the quarterfinals open.
No big deal, Canadian defender Renata Fast said.
“The Olympics is all about just going with the flow, adjusting to things,” Fast said.
“There’s always hiccups here and there. And I think the team that’s willing to be adaptable to changes, has success,” she added. “Every game’s important. And that U.S. game is always circled on our calendar. But we’ll take it day by day.”
AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed.
AP Winter Olympic: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
Canada's players celebrate after a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between Switzerland and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Saturday, Feb. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
United States' players celebrate their sides first goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
United States' Joy Dunne, right, celebrates after scoring her sides second goal during a preliminary round match of women's ice hockey between United States and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)
Luka Doncic is almost certainly going to win the NBA scoring title this season. And it's now very possible that he doesn't make the All-NBA team.
That's rare, but it might be this season's reality.
The roster of award-caliber players who won't be winning awards this season continues to grow, with Doncic — the Los Angeles Lakers standout guard and MVP candidate — now out with a Grade 2 left hamstring strain that will force him to miss the rest of the regular season. Minnesota guard Anthony Edwards is certain to miss the league's 65-game award eligibility threshold as well after he was held out Thursday because of illness.
Doncic has played 64 games, one shy of the threshold. It's worth noting that BetMGM Sportsbook, among others, took Doncic off the list of MVP betting options following his injury Thursday.
“At this juncture of the season, it’s the last thing you want to see,” Lakers star LeBron James told reporters in Oklahoma City after Thursday's game, long before an MRI was performed Friday to determine the extent of Doncic's injury. “Especially anybody on our team, but when you have an MVP candidate on your team, the last thing you want to see is somebody go down with a hamstring injury."
Edwards can now only reach a maximum of 64 games as well, so he won’t be on the ballot for most major NBA awards either.
It was collectively bargained — meaning the league and the players association agreed on the terms — and this is the third season of it being part of the NBA rules.
It applies to player eligibility for five awards — MVP, Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, the All-NBA Team and the All-Defensive Team. Players have to either play in 65 regular-season games (with some minutes-played minimums in there as well), or at least 62 games before suffering a “season-ending injury."
But even with Doncic's hamstring hurt badly enough that he'll miss the rest of the regular season, it wouldn't be classified as “season-ending” unless a doctor — jointly selected by the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association — says he wouldn't be able to play again through May 31.
There is a grievance process and even a way to challenge the rule citing extraordinary circumstances, but neither would be easily utilized.
Five of the league's six highest-paid players this season — Golden State's Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, Philadelphia's Joel Embiid, Milwaukee's Giannis Antetokounmpo and Boston's Jayson Tatum — aren't eligible for awards. Denver's Nikola Jokic is the exception on the highest-paid list, and he'd likely be ineligible if he misses more than one more game down the stretch.
There were 23 players on the list of those winning MVP, MIP, DPOY, All-NBA and All-Defense last season. Of those, at least 10 are out of the running for honors this season: Antetokounmpo, Curry, Edwards, James, Tatum, Detroit's Cade Cunningham, Indiana teammates Tyrese Haliburton and Ivica Zubac, Utah's Jaren Jackson Jr. and Oklahoma City's Jalen Williams. (Most of those 10 have been out of the awards mix because of injuries for some time; Tatum and Haliburton both tore Achilles in last season's playoffs and it was obvious then that they wouldn't hit 65-game marks this year.)
Another four award winners from a year ago — Jokic, Oklahoma City's Lu Dort, Golden State's Draymond Green and Cleveland's Evan Mobley — aren't at 65 games yet this season but, for now anyway, seem on pace to get there.
Never say never. The union wants changes to the policy, and it's certain to come up in their conversations with the league office. But many players — and even Andre Iguodala, now the head of the players' association — have said in recent years that the 65-game rule is a good thing.
The league doesn't seem inclined to make a change based solely on what would appear to be an extraordinary number of award candidates not hitting the threshold in one year.
“I think it is working,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said last month. “I think if you look at the numbers, the pre-implementation of this rule, numbers were going in the wrong direction. I may have this a little bit off: I think the three years before we adopted this rule, almost a third of the All-NBA players had not played 80% of the games. That was a huge issue for the league.”
As we said, it's rare, but it has happened. Twice, to be exact.
— 1968-69: Elvin Hayes won the scoring title as a rookie, then wasn't even All-NBA — and didn't win Rookie of the Year, either.
— 1975-76: Bob McAdoo won his third consecutive scoring title and was second in the MVP race — but didn't make All-NBA. Players voted for MVP in those days, and McAdoo was an extremely close second behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Dave Cowens was third in the MVP vote but got the second-team All-NBA nod at center, with Abdul-Jabbar the first-team pick.
Doncic now seems likely to join that list. It's not mathematically certain yet that he wins the scoring title, but it would take something extraordinary for it not to happen.
He's averaging 33.5 points per game, with Gilgeous-Alexander at 31.6 per game. For Gilgeous-Alexander — last season's scoring champion — to overtake Doncic, he would need to go on an unbelievable run. An example: He'd need to score 292 points over the final five games to take over the top spot, and nobody other than Wilt Chamberlain has had a five-game run like that.
Of the previous 79 scoring champions, 64 were first-team All-NBA and 13 were second-team.
Jokic is going to win the league's rebounding and assist titles, while averaging a triple-double yet again. But he's also not assured yet of being on the award ballots.
The thresholds are different.
While the award mandate is 65 games in most cases, players are eligible for most statistical awards if they play in 58 games (or 70% of the season). There are different standards for some stat awards, such as field-goal percentage (minimum 300 made), free-throw percentage (minimum 125 made) and 3-point percentage (minimum 82 made).
A player can win a stat award while appearing in less than 58 games.
For example, last season, San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama played only 46 games but still won the blocked shot title. Even if he played in the minimum 58 games and recorded no blocks in the 12 games needed to reach that number he still would have been ahead of the runner-up, Utah's Walker Kessler.
AP NBA: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NBA
Los Angeles Lakers guard Luka Doncic (77) looks to make a shot-attempt in the fourth quarter of a loss to the Detroit Pistons in an NBA basketball game Monday, March 23, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic warms up before an NBA basketball game against the Utah Jazz, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rob Gray)
Detroit Pistons forward Ronald Holland II (5) talks with guard Cade Cunningham (2), who did not play due to an injury, during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Toronto Raptors Tuesday, March 31, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)
Los Angeles Lakers forward/guard Luka Dončić (77) drives against Oklahoma City Thunder guard Cason Wallace (22) during the first half of an NBA basketball game Thursday, April. 2, 2026, in Oklahoma City. (AP Photo/Gerald Leong)
