[1] It was anticipated that the women's gold medal match would feature Canada versus the United States.

[2] Canada was favored to come out on top as they had won all the competitions in previous years in women's hockey, with the United States perpetually finishing second, while no other national teams could match their level of play.

However, the United States beat Canada in the final and became the first country to win gold in women's ice hockey at the Olympics.

There were no qualification tournaments, the host Japan played alongside the top five nations at the previous season's World Championships.

TOI = Time on ice (minutes); GA = Goals against; SA = Shots against; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts