Canada, U.S. took very different paths to Olympic women's hockey gold-medal final

After four long years, Canada's women's hockey team will seek to reclaim the Olympic title from the arch-rival Americans.

It enters the gold-medal game as the favourite, but matches between these countries tend to go down to the wire. Four of the pair's nine meetings this season, including the world championship final, have required overtime.

Canada has won four gold medals (2002, 2006, 2010, 2014) and two silvers (1998, 2018) in the tournament's six previous iterations, with five of the championship games having pitted them against the U.S.

Fans in Canada can watch the Olympic final on CBCSports.ca, the CBC Sports app, and CBC Gem beginning on Wednesday at 11:10 p.m. ET.

Canada has gone undefeated through the tournament, outscoring opponents by a cumulative margin of 54-8. The Canadians shut out Sweden 11-0 in the quarter-final, then dispatched Switzerland 10-3 to secure their chance at gold.

Neither knockout game was particularly threatening. They'll enter the final confident in their offensive depth, with every skater having registered at least one point throughout the tournament. They've also developed a knack for scoring early, having gotten at least one first-period goal in each of their games.

WATCH | Canada beat Swiss to advance to Olympic gold-medal final:

The biggest question for Canada will be whether it's prepared to defend under pressure. The Canadians brought a group of dynamic, young defenders who have been effective in driving the play. Given Canada's dominance, though, they haven't been tested much in their own zone.

Thanks in large part to Ann-Renée Desbiens' performance in net, the Canadians withstood a relentless U.S. forecheck in the first period of their preliminary-round meeting. Canada struggled