The Capitals will be watching closely as Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson go for gold.
ARLINGTON, V.A. — Pierre-Luc Dubois imagined that if the Washington Capitals planned to be too strict with the 10:30 a.m. practice start time on Sunday, then a number of players may end up calling in sick.
After all, the biggest game of the year will be on at that time — wrapping up, most likely, but still on — as Team Canada is set to face Team USA for gold at 8:10 a.m. at the Winter Olympics in Milan Cortina.
The Capitals will watch as two of their teammates in Tom Wilson and Logan Thompson look to capture their first Olympic gold.
"It doesn't happen very often that you have two friends in that game and teammates, it's going to be a special game to watch," Dubois said.
The practice start time remains the same as of now, but coach Spencer Carbery will be lenient and expects a handful of players to hit the ice a bit later depending on the timing of the match.
It'll be the second Canada-USA showdown for gold that the team has watched together these Games; the group tuned into the women's gold final just a few days ago.
"It's been super entertaining, and there's been a lot of energy and buzz around it," Leonard said. "Tomorrow's the best... definitely (easy to wake up for)."
Washington plans to have the game on in a number of locations around the facility, and players will likely gather in the lounge to tune in together. That said, the room is split on its predictions and rooting interests.
"I feel like there's some (players) that like the banter back and forth, and then there's some that just want to be left alone and don't need anything from the peanut gallery," Carbery quipped.
For instance, Ryan Leonard and Charlie Lindgren, both Americans, are conflicted as they root for their teammates and their home countries.
Meanwhile, Dylan Strome is rooting for his home country of Canada, along with his teammates and longtime friend Connor McDavid, who he predicts will score the game-winning goal.
Brandon Duhaime, a dual citizen, is just hoping both teams have fun, and that his teammates don't forget about him when they come back from Italy.
"I'm hoping LT and Tom get us maybe a gift or something," he joked.
Ultimately, though, the team agrees that it's a showdown that will go down in history.
"I'm hoping for a really good game... it's hard to say," Lindgren said. "I honestly think it has the potential to be the best hockey game of all time. The U.S. is probably pissed at the way 4 Nations ended last year, so they're going to be fired up. You look at the two rosters together, it's 40 of the best hockey players in the world. It's going to be extremely fun to watch."