Olympic roster spots on the line as Rivalry Series resumes

The GIST: The puck drops on the Olympic women’s hockey tournament in 57 days, but there’s a whole lot to sort out before then, including which athletes will earn a coveted spot on the 23-woman rosters.

• That means the spiciest series in sports — the annual Rivalry Series between Team Canada and Team USA — just became even hotter. Let’s discuss.

🔥 It’s the sixth edition of the Rivalry Series: The four-game set, which continues tonight at 9 p.m. ET, might be one game shorter than last year, but the stakes are higher: The “friendly” tilts are part of the Olympic roster selection process. As the only teams to win gold at the Games, it’s no secret that both countries' player pools are deep — but this fierce rivalry runs even deeper.

• Last month, the Americans outscored Canada 10–2 over the series’ first two games with two Team USA mainstays, Seattle Torrent captain Hilary Knight and Minnesota Frost forward Taylor Heise, combining for nine points. A true beatdown.

• But it’s worth noting that the Canadian roster was missing starting goalie Ann-Renée Desbiens of the Montréal Victoire (among a few other Team Canada regulars) as head coach Troy Ryan opted to experiment with a less experienced lineup.

🇨🇦 Team Canada’s roster should be more representative in Game 3: With Desbiens back between the pipes and the return of the Ottawa Charge trio of Brianne Jenner, Jocelyne Larocque, and Emily Clark, tonight’s lineup should be closer to the roster Canada intends to bring to Italy. And with national pride on the line, this is welcome news for Canucks.

🇺🇸 Team USA looks locked in: The American roster is loaded with talent from top to bottom. In addition to Knight and Heise, the Americans have an injection of youth with NCAA superstars Abbey Murphy and Laila Edwards, offering a well-balanced lineup of Olympic rookies and veterans. They’ll look to run it back with the same group tonight. Pop that corn.