U.S. hockey legend Hilary Knight is preparing to play in her fifth and final Olympics, but she's certainly not slowing down.

Knight scored a hat trick, while Kelly Pannek, Laila Edwards and Hayley Scamurra added goals, as the U.S. won its fourth consecutive game over rival Canada, prevailing 6-1 in Buffalo.

The Americans beat the Canadians by a combined 10-2 in the first two of four Rivalry Series games this fall leading up to the Milan Cortina Olympics. They also won 4-1 in Cleveland, and before that beat Canada in both matchups at last April's world championship tournament. 

The U.S. beat Canada back-to-back by a combined eight goals for the first time, according to Hockey Canada. It last won four in a row over Canada in 2023.

The teams play two more Rivalry Series games before the Olympics -- on Dec. 10 and 13 in Edmonton.

The first three goals of Game 2 came during a two-minute span in the middle of the second period.

First, Knight rebounded home a Megan Keller shot on the power play. 

Knight, already the most decorated Olympic hockey player in American history with one gold and three silver medals, said in May that Milan Cortina will be her final Games, should she make the 23-player roster. She's already the oldest Olympic women's hockey player in American history after suiting up at age 32 in 2022.

After Knight's opening goal, Pannek beat Canada goalie Kayle Osborne 65 seconds later. The assist went to Abbey Murphy, who scored a hat trick in the Game 1 win.

Then Canada captain Marie-Philip Poulin potted a power-play goal of her own, but the Canadians couldn't get any more past Gwyneth Philips.

Philips was the No. 2 U.S. goalie at last April's world championship tournament. She was thrust into a starring role in the third period of the gold-medal game, replacing an injured Aerin Frankel. Philips responded by stopping 17 of 18 Canadian shots, including all 10 in overtime, as the U.S. reclaimed the world title.

The U.S. got insurance goals in the third period from Edwards, the first Black woman to play for the senior national team, Knight and Scamurra, who played a 20-minute drive from her hometown of Getzville, New York. Knight then finished off her hat trick with an empty-netter. She also scored a hat trick against Canada in the 2023 World Championship final.

Canada played each of the last two games without three of its biggest stars as it evaluates others for potential Olympic roster spots. Missing were forwards Brianne Jenner, the 2022 Olympic MVP, Sarah Nurse, the leading points scorer at the 2022 Olympics, and Ann-Renée Desbiens, its No. 1 goalie each of the last five years. All three still could be key players at the Olympics.

Olympic rosters are expected to be named by early January.