Four years ago, Team USA held a 2-0 lead over Canada late in the third period of Sochi's Olympic gold-medal game. America's first gold since Nagano looked imminent. But it was not to be.
Canada scored two goals with 3:26 left in regulation to tie the game and force overtime. Seven minutes into the overtime during 3-on-3 action, Hilary Knight set up Anne Schleper in front of Canada's net, but Schleper lost the puck in her skates. Canadian legend Hayley Wickenheiser picked up the puck and charged up the open ice with Knight in pursuit. Knight shoved Wickenheiser from behind and was called for cross-checking.
She watched from the penalty box while Marie Philip-Poulin scored on the power play 39 seconds later, the Canadian women's own version of the "Golden Goal."
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“We came so close last time; we beat ourselves," Knight said last fall of USA's defeat in Sochi. “The most crucial parts of the game, to kind of have it fall through your fingertips, but to also have the opportunity four years later to potentially right the wrong so to speak with a new group of women on the world stage, it’s so exciting."
Knight has good reason to be excited and even optimistic. Since the agonizing defeat in Sochi she has helped lead the United States women's national team to three consecutive gold medals at the women's world championship and the Four Nations Cup. That's six victories over Team Canada in major tournaments. In that time, Knight also won a Clarkson Cup in the CWHL and an Isobel Cup in the NWHL in her pro career.
Knight is the most popular player in the women's game and she knows how to market herself. She has over 76,000 followers on Twitter and nearly 88,000 followers on Instagram. She lists nine sponsors on her website, including Nike and Bauer. Her face can be seen on magazine covers, in commercials, and all over social media. She's more than just the face of the United States women's national team; Knight is the face of her sport.
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FYI, @HilaryKnight can snipe. #NHLAllStar pic.twitter.com/4y58U7pgDu
— NHL (@NHL) January 28, 2018
Knight handles the spotlight far better than she gets credit. She is one of the most dangerous forwards in hockey and she has the numbers to prove it.
"She's a very unique player," Knight's former college and USWNT teammate Erika Lawler told Sporting News. "Her goal-scoring ability and how she releases the puck is probably the best in women's hockey. It's between her and Poulin.
"[Knight] scores in big games, she knows how to perform under pressure," Lawler continued. "She is a big, fast, strong body and she wins a ton of her battles. She's always on the score sheet and almost never in the penalty box."
It's tempting to categorize Knight as a power forward. After all, she's 5-11 and the heaviest player on the U.S. national team. But Knight is incredibly shifty and quick for her frame. She can beat opposing defenders and goaltenders in so many different ways. When she's not busy creating space for them to work with, Knight keeps up with speedy linemates Kendall Coyne and Brianna Decker.
As inimitable as Knight may be, she will be compared to Poulin throughout the Pyeongchang Games and long after them. Although Knight and Poulin are both elite forwards, they're dramatically different players. Poulin plays center and is five inches shorter and 13 pounds lighter than the big American winger. But the greatest difference between the rivals is Poulin's two Olympic gold medals.
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Pyeongchang may very well be Knight's last best chance at gold. The face of the United States women's national team will be 29 in July. To put that number into context: There are three 30-year-olds on USA's Olympic roster. Gigi Marvin, who turns 31 in March, is the oldest player on the team. When the 2022 Beijing Olympics arrive, Knight will be 32 and a half. In other words, there's no guarantee that she will be there.
Regardless of whether or not Knight finally tastes Olympic gold in Pyeongchang, she has already established herself as an icon in women's hockey. Her popularity has made thousands of people watch women's hockey for the first time and her talent has made fans of them. If you doubt Knight's legacy, you need only look at how many young girls playing hockey in America wear No. 21.
Knight doesn't need an Olympic gold medal to prove herself as an all-time great, but don't tell her that. Because beating Canada and winning gold is all that she and her teammates are thinking about.