World hockey championship

Canada and Finland will meet in the final for the third consecutive year at the men's world hockey championships, but the red and white face a massive ...

“The only reason we came here is to get to this gold medal game and do everything we can to win it. It’s total team effort and we need this to get to win the gold medal.” –forward Max Comtois At the other end of the ice, of course, we have the country that rules the goaltending world. Not among the top scorers for the team but still a factor is defenceman Miro Heiskanen, who came over during the tournament after his Dallas Stars were bounced by the Calgary Flames. Heiskanen has a sneaky five points in five games, to go along with a plus-four. Canada got dinged for two more penalties in the period before responding with six straight goals to run away with a 6-1 win, but they are not going to have that same bounce-back possibility against the tight Finns. The Canadians will have to strike the delicate balance between physical play and enthusiastic truculence. A major key for Canada’s chance will be off the draw. That was good for seventh in the tournament, but not great, really, considering the speed and skill on the team. But that is easier said than done when the Canadians reflexively rely on a heavy game and the officials are looking for any hint of malfeasance, given Canada’s rough-and-dirty reputation internationally. Arguably, the Canadian power play is firing on all cylinders heading into the final, going 2-for-4 against Czechia, both goals fueling a second-period rally that proved the difference in the semifinal. Players like to say they don’t hear the crowd once they get into the game, but if Canada falls into the trap of running around and taking bad penalties, expect a lot of derisive whistling. The Finns have a reputation for being disciplined, meticulous and patient, and their play to this point in the tournament has done nothing to change that impression.