Olympic Ice Hockey

Canadians are causing a lot of heartbreak for Americans these days.

Within a span of less than 24 hours, the U.S. women's and men's teams both suffered losses to Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi with big consequences. While the women suffered an epic collapse to lose 3-2 on Thursday in the gold-medal game, the men were outlasted in a hard-fought 1-0 defeat on Friday.

But Team USA will have to rebound quickly for Saturday's bronze-medal game against Finland, which lost 2-1 to Sweden in the other semifinal. The Americans are atop the total medal leaderboard with 27 following Friday's action, and the men's hockey team will be trying to add more hardware to the trophy cabinet.

Here's a look at viewing info for the matchup and three of the top storylines to keep an eye on.

Date: Feb. 22

Time: 10 a.m. ET

TV: NBC Sports Network

Live Stream: NBC Live Extra

Replay: 6 p.m. ET, NBC SN

Finland: Who Will Start At Goalie?

Finland's starting goalie Tuukka Rask entered as one of the big names in this tournament, but he didn't fare as expected in his first three games, allowing seven goals on 85 shots for a 91.76 save percentage.

On Friday, he was unable to play due to illness, so Kari Lehtonen took his place in the semifinal against Sweden. He held up his end of the bargain for most of the contest, saving 23 of 25 shots, but he was also responsible for allowing a long-range goal from defenseman Erik Karlsson—one that Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News said Lehtonen should have saved:

It’s unfair, but that’s how goalies have been judged for years. If you make “that” stop, you’re a hero. If you allow “that” goal, you’re not. It’s something Ed Belfour and Marty Turco experienced in their careers, and it’s something that Kari Lehtonen is starting to learn.

Lehtonen allowed “that” goal Friday in a 2-1 loss to Sweden in the Olympic semifinals. He was great in stopping 23 of 25 shots, including some really impressive saves. He was tested with more serious chances than Swedish goalie Henrik Lundqvist. His team was injury-riddled, including in goal. Lehtonen, who is serving as the back-up for Finland, found out about an hour before the game that expected starter Tuukka Rask had flu and would not be able to play.

No matter who's under center for Finland, be sure to keep an eye on American Max Pacioretty.

The semifinal loss wasn't all Lehtonen's fault, though, as the Finland offense was outmuscled by Sweden and couldn't get much going in the middle of the ice.

Even if Rask is physically able to play on Saturday, his recent struggles and Lehtonen's performance on Friday might keep Rask on the bench.

USA: Offense Looking to Rebound

The Americans posted staggering numbers in their first four games of this tournament but ran into a brick wall in Canadian goalie Carey Price.

Team USA created opportunities and was able to pepper Price with shots at times, but he simply was on top of his game. After the tough one-goal loss, Patrick Kane expressed his disappointment to Greg Beacham of The Associated Press: "We didn't really create much offense. It's a little disappointing. ... I think everyone expected a tight-checking game, but to say we would have gotten shut out, I don't think anyone would have thought that."

A shutout was the farthest thing from Kane and his teammates' minds after they scored 20 goals during the group stage and quarterfinals.

Perhaps Canadian coach Mike Babcock gave Finland a blueprint on how to beat the Americans, per defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic's comment to Mark Purdy of the Bay Area News Group:

It's hard to see this potent United States attack being stifled two games in a row, so the Finns better be ready for a quick-paced contest.

Finding Energy After Tough Losses

This will be a tough turnaround for both teams as they will have to return to the ice after their respective dreams of gold were dashed.

While the United States and Canada battled for first place in Vancouver four years ago, Finland knocked off Slovakia 5-3 in the bronze-medal game. No one wants to be playing in a consolation game, but the Finns sounded like they are staying upbeat.

"A bronze medal would be an unbelievable thing," 43-year-old forward Teemu Selanne told Larry Lage of The Associated Press. "So, that is our goal now even though it is very disappointing right now."

But this is still the Olympics, and for many of these players, it will be their last chance to represent their country on such a big stage. Earning a place on the podium should be motivation for both sides.

Perhaps the fact that the bronze-medal game for men’s hockey at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi is a mere one day after the heartbreaking semifinals loss will help the United States team refocus. 

That’s a task much easier said than done.

The Americans dropped a 1-0 game to Canada after a second-period goal by Jamie Benn held up as the difference. Both Jonathan Quick for the United States and Carey Price for Canada were excellent in goal.

With the semifinals in the rearview mirror, it’s time for the hockey world to turn its collective attention to the medal rounds. Day 15 will feature the bronze medal game between the United States and Finland.

Men’s Hockey Bronze-Medal Game: United States vs. Finland

Date: Saturday, Feb. 22

Time: 10 a.m. ET, 7 p.m. Sochi time and 3 p.m. GMT

TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Network at 10 a.m. ET and BBC at 3 p.m. GMT

It will be interesting to see the energy level from the Americans with virtually no layover from the semifinals loss. It will certainly have to be better than it was against Canada, as Ryan Suter told reporters after the game in comments passed along by Mike Halford of NBC ProHockey Talk: 

We didn’t show up to play. It’s kind of frustrating. They’re a good team. We sat back, we were passive. You can’t play scared…I thought we sat on our heels and just didn’t take it to them at all. We had motivation. We just didn’t take it on the ice.

Getting off to a quick start will be imperative because both teams have made a habit of scoring plenty of goals at these Olympics despite the disappointing semifinal results. In fact, the United States and Finland are tied for the lead at the Games with a 19-8 non-shootout goal differential.

Phil Kessel has led the Americans with five goals and three assists.

As for Finland, Teemu Selanne is the most notable name on the roster. He has two goals and two assists in five games and is currently playing in his sixth Olympics.

Selanne has three medals to his Olympic resume and would love another one in what figures to be his last go around.

While the offense is one thing, who lines up in net for Finland is something to keep an eye on. Kari Lehtonen made 23 saves as a replacement for Tuukka Rask in the semifinals as Rask dealt with an unspecified illness.

On paper, the Americans have more talent than Finland. There are a number of NHL All-Stars who have put it all on the line for national pride in the middle of a grueling NHL schedule, but that doesn’t mean Finland isn’t capable of winning the bronze.

It clearly won’t be intimidated by the Red, White and Blue seeing as it already eliminated host country Russia from the Olympics in the quarterfinals in front of a hostile crowd.

Assuming the Americans come out with the right mindset and are completely focused on winning the bronze, look for them to pick up the pace after a stagnant offensive effort against Canada. They will score an early goal and control the pace of the game, eventually winning 3-1. 

Bronze wasn’t the color the United States was looking for when it got to Sochi, but it will certainly beat no medal at all.

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Friday featured plenty of pulse-pounding action inside the Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi as the final four men's hockey teams competed for a berth in Sunday's gold-medal game.

Reigning Olympic gold medalists Canada are headed back to the final for the second consecutive year after shutting out Team USA in a hard-fought border battle. The favorites will take on Sweden, who held on to beat Finland 2-1 in Friday's opening semifinal.

The two hockey superpowers have combined to win gold at each of the last three Olympics, setting the stage for an epic winner-take-all clash. 

But before the puck drops, let's take a closer look at what we learned on Friday. 

	Score
Sweden	2-1	Finland
Canada	1-0	United States

Canada Has Team USA's Number

While Canada's 1-0 win over the United States on Friday was telling in terms of Canada's defensive prowess and the Americans' lack of offensive productivity, the result also reaffirmed what we already knew coming into these Winter Games, that Team Canada own this captivating North American rivalry. 

Make that four of five meetings.

Four years after Sidney Crosby broke the U.S.'s collective heart with an overtime stunner in Vancouver, it was Jamie Benn who scored the decisive goal for Canada on Friday.

Now, for the second straight Olympics, Team Canada will play for the gold while the U.S. head home disappointed (with or without the bronze).

Adding to the heartbreak for America, Friday's defeat marked the second one-goal loss to Canada in as many days. The American women surrendered a two-goal lead in the waning moments of Thursday's gold-medal match before going on to lose in overtime. 

The women secured silver, but the men will have to beat a strong Finland side on Saturday in order to leave Sochi with a piece of hardware. If the U.S. wins, it'll mark the Americans' third men's hockey medal in the last four Olympics. 

Henrik Lundqvist is Peaking at Ideal Time

Sweden netminder Henrik Lundqvist is playing lights-out this winter in Sochi and as a result, the Swedes are just one win away from their second Olympic gold medal since 2006.

The 31-year-old has been a brick wall in the crease for the Scandinavian powerhouse through five games, recording two shutouts and 117 saves. With only six goals surrendered since the tournament began, Lundqvist is sporting a save percentage of .951 coming into Sunday's gold-medal game. 

Lundqvist stopped 25 shots and let in just one goal in Sweden's 2-1 victory over Finland on Friday and is now playing with tremendous confidence, per The New York Daily News' Wayne Coffey:

It’s an amazing feeling, to get this opportunity. Overall, I think we played a really solid game. I think we played our best so far in this tournament. I hope we save our best for last. We’re going to need it. We’re going to play an even better team on Sunday.

With Lundqvist coming off a dominant performance against the reigning Olympic bronze medalists and an even more impressive outing against Slovenia in the quarterfinals, Sweden must feel good about their chances of claiming gold this weekend.

The Swedes have yet to lose a single game in Sochi this February, and their come-from-behind win over Finland is a reminder that Canada are no lock to repeat in 2014.

Follow Bleacher Report Featured Columnist Patrick Clarke on Twitter. 

It was supposed to be an epic battle of hockey superpowers.

Canada. United States.

It was supposed to be a changing of the guard, a passing of the torch—from the mighty Canadians, who nearly lost to Latvia in the quarterfinals, to the upstart Americans, who rolled through their first four matchups and led all teams in scoring at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

It was supposed to be a measure of revenge for Team USA after losing the gold-medal game to Canada in overtime four years ago. 

Instead, it was a reminder that Canada is the superior hockey nation to the United States. And the gap is wider now than it was four years ago.

With a trip to the gold-medal game on the line, Canada knocked out Team USA with a 1-0 victory that felt more like a 10-0 win considering how Canada controlled every aspect of the contest. The Canadians will face Sweden for gold on Sunday while Team USA will battle Finland for bronze on Saturday.

"We didn't have any energy," defenseman Ryan Suter said to NHL.com. "We didn't have a forecheck. We weren't very good."

This was less a hockey game and more a big brother getting a chuckle out of an overmatched little brother trying so hard despite the outcome being a foregone conclusion.

Team USA right wing Phil Kessel had the first scoring chance 30 seconds into the game. He flew past defenseman Duncan Keith as if he were a flag on a downhill slalom course, only to be denied by goaltender Carey Price, who probably had a hard time keeping a straight face as he made the save and did not allow a rebound.

Even if you were involved in a disastrous fireworks accident, you could count the remaining dangerous American scoring chances on one hand.

“They managed the puck pretty well and played a real suffocating style of defense," Team USA forward David Backes said to Puck Daddy at Yahoo Sports. "We didn’t battle through it in quite the ways we needed to to have success. The result is no second and third chances that we’ve been scoring on earlier."

Paul Stastny pushed a loose puck through Price's legs only to see it go wide of the post in the second period. Zach Parise had a chance from the left faceoff circle late in the third period, but Price swallowed the shot that died in the red leaf on his chest.

Otherwise, this game was about as rough as a slightly uncomfortable massage for Canada.

And that's not likely to change should these teams meet at the 2018 Olympics or at any potential World Cups on North American soil in the coming years.

Jamie Benn, who scored the game's lone goal, is 24 years old. There are eight players on Canada's roster who were born after 1986, including Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Toews, Drew Doughty, Alex Pietrangelo and Carey Price. That doesn't include Steven Stamkos or John Tavares, who were born in 1990 and absent from this game with Team USA due to injury, or 24-year-old PK Subban, the reigning Norris Trophy winner who has been a healthy scratch in all but one game at Sochi.

Shea Weber, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf are 28. Rick Nash is 29.

Time will catch and ruin all of us, but it's got a long way to go before it runs down the Canada's core. It is probably about as far behind Team Canada as Team USA is behind their biggest rivals. 

Team USA has 10 players born after 1986, putting them on par with Team Canada in terms of age.

But after two Olympics in which Canada has gotten the best of Team USA, does it matter?

If anything, it just sets up Team USA for another seven to eight years of heartbreak with a very similar roster against a team that's simply better in every regard.

Well, maybe not goaltending. Jonathan Quick was unbelievable in the loss to Canada, stopping 36 of 37 shots, while Brooks Orpik wasn't quick enough to mark Benn in front of his net or aware enough to prevent Perry from picking his pocket in his own zone on a separate play.

Quick is 28 years old and has enough left in the tank to be a force for the national team for at least another four years. But as was evidenced on Friday, a great goaltender can only take you so far against an opponent that's a cut above.

Canada was superior defensively, strangling the life out of Team USA's top line and preventing second chances from anyone else. Parise finished the game with eight shots for the U.S., but you're kidding yourself if you think more than two of them had any hope of getting past Price.

Canada was superior offensively despite the absence of Tavares, the third-leading scorer in the NHL this season. Some sort of fee should be charged to Canada's forwards for setting up residence in Team USA's defensive zone for nearly 60 minutes.

Was Quick better than Price? That's fair to say, but when the team in front of Price is this talented, it doesn't matter. It makes Canada virtually impervious to an opposition goaltender stealing a game.

Behind the bench, it's also not a contest. Team Canada's Mike Babcock is the best in the business, and when the chips were down, he boxed Team USA's Dan Bylsma's ears off. Even with the Americans having the last change, Bylsma had Orpik on the ice against Crosby at times and refused to get Pavelski's line away from Toews' line, which was an utter mismatch for the U.S. 

Bylsma made few in-game adjustments, but by the time he did, they were a mix of pointless and belated.

"We didn't change our game plan at all," Orpik said, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "We wanted to push the pace. I think you just got to credit them."

This was supposed to be Team USA's time to rise up and punch its big brother in the face and show they were equals. 

Instead, Team Canada gently patted Team USA on the head before taking its lunch money on the way to the gold-medal game against Sweden.

Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @DaveLozo.

Both the United States and Finland men's hockey teams are not where they wanted to be right now—in a battle for the bronze medal. Both teams were legitimate contenders for the gold medal, however, after two defensive battles on Friday, both teams came out on the losing end.

The Finns were up against a very dynamic Swedish team. They did manage to contain the Swedes' explosive offense to just 25 shots on goal. Unfortunately, two of those shots found the back of the net which was good enough for the win.

Team USA faced off against an equally tough Canadian team. Once again, goaltending was spectacular, as Jonathan Quick stopped 36 of Canada's 37 shots. However, the United States could not find its offense. Despite firing 31 shots on goal, the team was held scoreless.

The impending bronze-medal matchup should be a thrilling one as both of these teams are very deep across the board. This is one contest that should not be missed, so let's take a look at its viewing information along with a final prediction for the game's outcome.

Viewing Information

What: USA vs. Finland (bronze-medal game)

When: Saturday, Feb. 22

Where: Bolshoy Ice Dome

TV Time: 10 a.m. ET

Channel: NBCSN

Live Stream: NBCOlympics.com

Outlook

Looking at both of these teams' performances during the semifinal round of the men's ice hockey playoffs, plenty of similarities are very apparent:

Team	Shots	Goals	Saves	Goals Allowed	Save %
United States	31	0	36	1	.973
Finland	26	1	23	2	.920

Despite these similarities during these defensive struggles, each team lost in a different way.

Finland generated a goal even though it took five fewer shots than the United States. Team USA found themselves around their opponent's net quite frequently, however, they were not able to capitalize.

On the other hand, the United States gave up one goal on 37 shots. Finland lost its matchup by allowing two goals on just 25 shots. The goaltending for the United States has been fantastic throughout the entire tournament.

This brings us to the bronze-medal game where it will be a battle of strengths. The Finns have not had any trouble finding the back of the net throughout the tournament. Finland scored 15 goals during the preliminary rounds and another four in the playoffs.

The United States allowed just four goals during the preliminary rounds and and three more during the playoffs. If Team USA can get it going on the offensive side, they are incredibly difficult to beat due to solid goaltending.

Getting the offense going is key for the United States, after all. Once its loss to Canada went final, defenseman Ryan Suter explained his disappointment during an interview with ESPN.com, "We didn't show up to play. It's too bad. We sat back. We were passive. You can't play scared. I thought we sat on our heels and just didn't take it to them at all."

Forward Patrick Kane added, "We didn't really create much offense. It's a little disappointing. I think everyone expected a tight-checking game, but to say we would have gotten shut out, I don't think anyone would have thought that."

This was the problem for the United States on Friday. Even though Quick was fantastic in goal, the team could not muster enough offensive firepower to help him out.

With the high-octane offense that Finland is capable of producing, the United States must take the appropriate measures to combat that by generating offense of its own. Keeping the puck on the opponents' side of the ice will be crucial for both teams in this contest.

Prediction

Finland will continue to fire away on offense. Expect the United States to do the same after watching film from its loss on Friday and making appropriate adjustments.

That being said, this contest will come down to which team can flourish on the defensive side of the ice. Due to current trends, that team is the United States. Stout goaltending from Team USA along with a revamped offense will carry them to victory against a very good Finland team.

United States 3, Finland 2

The Canadian men's hockey team reigned supreme over its American counterpart on Friday, less than 24 hours after the women claimed a thrilling 3-2 comeback victory over Team USA to win gold.

Behind a 31-save shutout from goalie Carey Price, Team Canada edged out the United States 1-0 to secure a trip to the gold-medal game. Sweden also reached the men's final on Friday after beating Finland 2-1 in the other semifinal earlier in the day.

Both the Americans and the Canadians will try to add to their medal counts as they jockey for position toward the top of the leaderboard with just two days of competitions to go.

The U.S. men's hockey team will go for bronze on Saturday, while the Canadians will defend their 2010 gold medal on Sunday. Here's a look ahead to both medal games complete with TV and live stream viewing info. For more information, visit Sochi2014.com.

Gold-Medal Game: CAN vs. SWE

Date: Sunday, Feb. 23

Time: 7 a.m. ET

TV: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Live Extra

Replay: Feb. 23, 5 p.m. ET, NBC SN

Team Canada coach Mike Babcock utilized an interesting strategy for his team against the Americans and it worked. Despite boasting one of the most talented crops of forwards in the world, Babcock told his players to focus on being two-way contributors on Friday.

Mark Purdy of the Bay Area News Group passed along comments from Canadian defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Aside from being defensive-minded, Babcock's team was also opportunistic against the Americans, as Jamie Benn's close-range goal in traffic off a great assist from Jay Bouwmeester in the second period was enough to win the contest.

That was only made possible by a stellar effort from Price, who stopped all 31 shots he faced from an unrelenting American attack. In the end, the Canadians were able to dictate the tempo of the game and control the middle of the ice after Benn's goal.

"We didn't score a lot of goals, but we didn't have to," Canada forward Jonathan Toews told Greg Beacham of the Associated Press. "The next game will follow that work ethic. We can check, we can work our tails off, and we can make things real tough for the other team."

It all sets up the Canadians with another quality matchup against the 2006 gold medal-winning Swedes, who traditionally play a skilled brand of hockey. Larry Lage of the Associated Press offered some perspective on Sweden's place in Olympic history.

The Swedes can join Canada as the only country to win two gold medals since NHL players began participating in the Olympics. It would be quite a feat for a team missing three of its best players, all of whom would be top-line forwards.

Captain Henrik Zetterberg pulled out of the Olympics after playing in one game because of a herniated disk. Henrik Sedin, Daniel's twin, and Johan Franzen didn't make the trip to Russia because of injuries.

"It's an unbelievable feeling being back in the final and playing for gold," Sweden forward Daniel Alfredsson said. "Except for our setback with Zetterberg. I felt so sad for him."

Anchoring Team Sweden is goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who had 25 saves in the semifinal. For the tournament he has a 1.20 goal against average with a 95.12 save percentage (117-of-123) in five contests, and will be a formidable foe for Team Canada to take down.

Bronze-Medal Game: USA vs. FIN

Date: Saturday, Feb. 22

Time: 10 a.m. ET

TV: NBC Sports Network

Live Stream: NBC Live Extra

Replay: Feb. 22, 6 p.m. ET, NBC SN

The Americans didn't look bad on Friday, but Canada was simply too stout on defense and able to capitalize on their best chance of the evening.

Clearly, the U.S. was disappointed to be shutout after scoring 20 goals in four games entering the semifinal.

"We didn't really create much offense," U.S. forward Patrick Kane told Beacham. "On the chances we did have, their goalie made some good saves. It's a little disappointing. ... I think everyone expected a tight-checking game, but to say we would have gotten shut out, I don't think anyone would have thought that."

The United States will be sure to keep an eye on the Finland goalie situation heading into Saturday's showdown, as starter Tuukka Rask (illness) was replaced by Kari Lehtonen on Friday.

Finland took bronze in 2010 and will be looking to repeat against the Americans.

"A bronze medal would be an unbelievable thing," 43-year-old forward Teemu Selanne said, via Lage. "So, that is our goal now even though it is very disappointing right now."

The Finns went 2-0-1 with a 2-1 overtime loss to Canada in the group stage before knocking out host country Russia 3-1 in the quarterfinals. As good as the Americans looked in their run up to the semifinals, the Finns have been here before and have already risen to the occasion once in this tournament.

For the second straight Olympics, Canada halted the United States' quest for a hockey gold medal.

Last time, it was 2010 on the Vancouver coast of the Pacific Ocean when Sydney Crosby scored an overtime winner in the gold-medal game to send Canada to the top of the podium with a 3-2 victory. The Americans settled for silver.

In 2014, it was on the Black Sea shores of Sochi, Russia, that the Canadians shut out the Americans 1-0 in the tournament's second semifinal to advance to the gold-medal round to face Sweden. The Americans will have to take heart and find satisfaction in playing Finland Saturday for the bronze medal.

"I thought Canada controlled the pace of the play, I thought their defense was outstanding and there was never a serious flurry of threats by the USA in the third period," said Mike Milbury, NBC Analyst, after the game.

Despite the close score and the fact that one great shot would have knotted the game for the United States, it was a dominating Canadian performance. A powerful and near-flawless defensive showing—in tandem with a game-long fast-break blitz on offense—allowed the team from "up north" to control the game against their archrivals to the south.

"Team Canada just shut down USA offensively," said NBC television play-by-play analyst Eddie Olczyk. "They never gave them any sustained quality chances, they just stymied the offense."

It was at its core an accurate statement, though the Americans fought for chances until the bitter end and managed to put 31 shots on Canadian goalkeeper Carey Price, who put on a magnificent performance between the pipes. 

The game was largely a high-octane, clean-burning drag race, with both teams blazing up and down the rink performing incredibly intricate and skilled maneuvers with the puck on their blades. Both goaltenders were unbeatable for essentially the entire 60 minutes.   

The Canadians layered their defense in such a way that the United States could not manage more than one shot on many of its possessions. Often that one shot came from the perimeter with several defenders between the puck and Price. The goal-scoring red zone in the slots between the circles was closed off like a no-fly zone by the Canadians.

"It seems like we had a tough time sustaining any pressure in their end. They outnumbered us in their zone, came up with it quick and, as we expected, they are quick in transition," said forward Ryan Callahan to rink-side analyst Pierre McGuire.

"They are a talented group. You see the skill they have and how they play, so it's a tough one to take."

This was in diametric opposition to the Canadian offense, which manufactured chance after golden chance against the United States, battering goalie Jonathan Quick with 37 dangerous, difficult shots. He turned aside 36 of them, many in magnificent fashion. 

Quick, in fact, may have been the player of the game in the losing effort, sprawling over the goal crease, making glove saves, kick saves, blocker saves and even desperation flailing saves that again and again kept Canada from pushing the game beyond America's reach.

Canada's goal was scored at 18:19 of the second period by its monster line of Ryan Getzlaf, Jamie Benn and Corey Perry, who along with a supercharged Chris Kunitz, were too much for the Americans to handle. 

Benn tipped in a pass struck hard enough toward the middle of the ice by defenseman Jay Bouwmeester that it looked like a snap shot. It was perhaps the only play of the game where Quick was fooled, reacting to Bouwmeester's stick as if a scoring attempt was coming at him when it went low and hard toward a cutting Benn instead. Benn just put his stick blade hard onto the ice and re-directed the shot up high over the goalie. 

"I have a lot of fun playing with those guys back in the NHL," said Benn, who had sweat running down his face in streams, to McGuire between periods. "We have great chemistry off the ice, we're always hanging out, and I love playing with those guys."

Crosby, despite not registering any points, played a fantastic, all-out game for his Canadian teammates. In typical fashion, he seemed to be everywhere at once, handling the puck along the back-boards, deftly swiping at a rebound with a defenseman hanging off of him and setting up teammates with precision passes through traffic.

Forward Jeff Carter was another Canadian the Americans could not seem to corral. The big Los Angeles Kings forward entered the offensive zone regularly with a head of steam built up and the moves to blow by defensemen. Carter peppered Quick with shots and greatly assisted Canada in maintaining 60 minutes of fatiguing pressure on the United States.

For the Americans, Zach Parise, Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel just could not find a way to beat Price, though it was not from lack of trying. At one point, Kane streaked into the zone, toe-dragging the puck away from a defender before leaving it to Parise, who fired a wrist shot that was stopped by Price.

Parise had another tip opportunity in front of the net that he could not get up into the air and Price smothered. At another moment, Kessel fired a shot that was tipped wickedly toward the net by forward James van Riemsdyk, but again Price ate it up.

Both teams had the afterburners opened wide all night and put on a tense and memorable show for the sold-out crowd at Bolshoy Ice Dome. 

The Canadians will play Sweden two days from now for their ninth gold medal and second in a row. The Swedes will be chasing their third gold medal and first since 2006 in Torino, Italy.

With Canada coming off the win over the team many thought was the tournament's best in the United States, it will either be worn down and depleted or energized to finish the work. For the efficient Swedes, it is always all business, and they will have everything Canada wants on the final day of hockey from Sochi. 

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Canada can exhale once again. It has a golden date with Sweden set for Sunday.

Canadian fans have been nervous. They anticipated the worst and hoped for the best. Well, they got the best on Friday with a flawless 1-0 victory over the United States that has the entire country only now truly believing a third gold medal in the last four Winter Olympic Games is a possibility.

Few would have predicted a single goal would be scored in the semifinal game between the previously potent Team USA and a star-studded Team Canada at the Sochi Games men’s hockey tournament. If they had, it likely would have been in favor of the Americans, who through four previous games sported the deadliest offense featuring the tournament’s top scorer in Phil Kessel. They outscored their previous opponents 20-6 with only one game’s outcome in doubt—the group stage matchup against the host Russians the U.S. claimed in a shootout.

Canada, meanwhile, plodded through the preliminary round without impressing much in a marginal victory over Norway in its tournament opener, a blowout against Austria and an overtime win against Finland. The defending gold medalists gave much of the country’s hockey fans some serious heartburn in a quarterfinal against Latvia that left its hopes of repeating in doubt until a Shea Weber goal with less than seven minutes left gave Canada a 2-1 win that looked way too difficult for a potential Olympic champion.

There have been doubters all the way along that Canada would be able to back up its title of the undisputed best team on paper by finally becoming the best team on the ice. Any questions as to whether or not those stars would finally shine have been answered. And the shine from Canada’s now-guaranteed medal will be either gold or silver.

Carey Price was outstanding, stopping all 31 shots he faced. A few of them were highlight-reel-worthy—including an early glove save on U.S. defenseman John Carlson and a desperation kick with the right pad on a deflection at the top of his crease during a penalty kill later in the contest—but the Montreal Canadiens goalie was given every opportunity to make most of them look routine thanks to what is hands-down the best collection of blueliners in Sochi.

Price credited his teammates while talking to CBC after the game: “Our backchecking was excellent, our forecheck was good ... the effort was there.”

Drew Doughty, Duncan Keith, Weber, Jay Bouwmeester, Alex Pietrangelo and Marc-Edouard Vlasic were magnificent, keeping Kessel and his linemates Joe Pavelski and James van Riemsdyk at bay, and making sure Patrick Kane, Ryan Kesler, David Backes, Zach Parise and T.J. Oshie barely got a look at Price.

Aside from that single scoring chance Kessel had in the first minute, which might have woken up the Canada defense, the Toronto Maple Leafs star was limited to three more shots from the outside.

The Meat Line of Backes, Dustin Brown and Ryan Callahan that had been so effective in the quarterfinal win over the Czechs combined for zero shots—not even bad ones—and couldn't keep pace with the much quicker Canadian forwards. Coach Dan Bylsma limited their ice time as a group and Brown was basically stapled to the bench in the third period.

Oshie played fewer than 10 minutes. Van Riemsdyk barely played a dozen. Bylsma had no option but to keep sending Kesler, Kane and Parise back out there as the only line that seemed capable of getting into the same postal code (that's a zip code for the Americans in the audience) as the Canadian defenders. Throw defensemen Ryan Suter and Ryan McDonagh into that top five and you've accounted for nearly half (15) of the 31 shots.

Only Paul Stastny's jam that went through Price's legs and past the post came anywhere near the goal-line.

Granted, it's tough to score if you don't have the puck. And Canada owned that black rubber disc on this day. Only two Canadian forwards, Rick Nash and Marty St. Louis—who didn't play a single second as the extra man—failed to register at least a shot at Quick.

The one goal that was managed on the day was a thing of beauty, with Jamie Benn essentially working a give-and-go with Bouwmeester. Benn dished a no-look backhand pass to the point and Bouwmeester sent a hard pass back at him, which Benn redirected past Jonathan Quick to become Canada’s newest hero.

Benn was elated while talking about it on CBC: “It doesn't get much better than that. We didn't sit back. We tried to go after these guys and control the play. They can’t do much if we have the puck on our stick.”

They had it plenty. It’s a team built for speed, and that speed finally showed against the Americans. The only question remaining is whether or not it will be on display against the Swedes on Sunday.

So much emotion was poured into the rematch of the 2010 Vancouver Games' gold-medal contest that people might easily forget the mission isn’t yet accomplished. Team Canada has one more game to play, and it comes against the top-seeded Swedes.

Much like the United States before the semifinal, Sweden hasn’t yet seen a team as talented as Canada in the tournament. And as solid as the Swedes have been in the absence of leaders like Henrik Sedin, Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen, it will take a monumental effort to keep pace with the Canadians, who were loose and lively after the semifinal game.

“We enjoy ourselves out there,” Canada center Ryan Getzlaf told NBC’s Pierre McGuire after the game. “And obviously we enjoy winning.”

There’s one more to enjoy. And for Canadians, it won’t be nearly as stressful to watch now.

All those annoying people who spout "defense wins championships" get to gloat some more now. In the case of the Canadian men's hockey team, it also can be said that offensive defensemen win championships—or at least take them to gold-medal Olympic games.

Let's face it: Canada's defensemen are better offensively than most forwards for any country. That was one of the sobering realities offered up Friday in Canada's 1-0 win over Team USA in a semifinal game in Sochi. A puck on the stick of Shea Weber or Drew Doughty or Duncan Keith or Alex Pietrangelo felt a lot scarier than it ever did on that of Patrick Kane, Phil Kessel or Zach Parise. 

It's tough enough to shut down Sidney Crosby or any of the other fantasy-leaguers the Canadians offer up on their forward lines in international competition. But what has often separated Canada from the rest of the world is that second wave of attack from the blue line. From Doug Harvey to Bobby Orr to Denis Potvin to Paul Coffey to Ray Bourque to, now, Weber, Doughty and Co., Canada's offensive power from the blue line has proven the winning difference countless times.

The Canadians didn't get a goal from their defensemen in their victory over the U.S., their third in as many Olympic final-four meetings since 2002. But Canada's defense dominated at both ends of the ice. If the puck came across the Canada blue line, which became rarer as the game went on, big men in red uniforms were quick to take it away. When the puck came across the U.S. blue line, big men in red uniforms dictated the tempo from there. Coming into this game, seven of Canada's 13 tournament goals came from the defense and, while they didn't score in this one, they were just as effective offensively.

This was supposed to be the year when blue and white would meet up with red in color superiority, though. This was going to be the year the Americans finally beat Canada at, literally, its own game. Russia having already been conquered a few games before, on its home ice, the Americans had everything together entering Friday's game, while the Canadians seemed disorganized and a little hung over still from 2010.

Nope. And really, it wasn't all that close. What's that, you say? A 1-0 game, not all that close? Not really.

As NBC analyst and former Team USA regular Jeremy Roenick lamented after the game, the American offensive attack consisted of spare, "one-and-done" moments. Aside from some early pressure and a couple of great chances, especially a charging one-timer for defenseman John Carlson, the American offense became like that old lawnmower with the faulty motor. There would be a little spurt of turf progression, then the thing would conk out for a while and need effusive effort to wheeze back to life.

"Seems like we had a hard time sustaining any pressure in their end," Team USA's Ryan Callahan told NBC's Pierre McGuire. "It's a tough one to take."

All that talk about the magic stick of Patrick Kane, the unstoppable speed of Kessel, the immovable object in the blue paint that was David Backes...it all was just chewed up and spit out by a dominant Canadian defense. And unlike the Canadian forwards, who can always toss it back to a Weber or a Doughty or a Keith when needing an outlet for the puck, it seemed like there was nobody there offensively on the American blue line. Now, we can start some of the second-guessing of Team USA's management group, for going with one-way D-men such as Brooks Orpik instead of, say, a Keith Yandle or Erik Johnson.

While we're in critical mode, let's add in the now seemingly foolish decision to leave a real goal scorer such as Bobby Ryan off the team. Sure, the Americans racked up the goals against teams like the Czechs and the Austrians, but when it came time to face the fantasy-league roster of Canada again, the American offense looked small. T.J. Oshie was a great story for a couple of days as a shootout hero, but against the Canadians he looked big and slow.

This was more akin to a 3-0 or 4-0 game. Only the great goaltending of Jonathan Quick prevented that from being the final score. The only thing that beat him was a great tip off the stick of Jamie Benn early in the second period. 

Somehow, when that puck went in, it felt like it was over from an American perspective. The Canadians just never, not for one second, seemed flustered against Team USA. When they got that first goal, they just projected that "You guys had your chance, but now you're done" look. Sure enough, they were done. (And, boy, did the rest of the game seem to fly by after that or what? The entire game was just under two hours in length. It seemed over before it even started.)

There is no shame in losing to Canada in hockey. The Americans have been doing that for a long time now. The American Superiority Complex may remain over the rest of the world in many things, but when it comes to hockey, we're still the redheaded stepchild to Canada.

Adrian Dater has written about the NHL for 18 years and covers the Avalanche for the Denver Post. Follow him on Twitter @Adater.