By Logan Swinkels
When Canada and USA face each other in a hockey game as crucial as this one, the phrase 'love thy neighbour' goes out the window. Expect big hits, bigger goals, and plenty of tension.
The clinching situation for a semi-final spot is simple: Canada will clinch if they win in any fashion, and USA are eliminated from the World Cup if they lose.
If USA were to win then they still have a slim chance of qualifying dependent on other results.
The Americans came out swinging with Ryan McDonagh scoring on the team's first shot, but that was cancelled out quickly thanks to goals by Canada's Matt Duchene and Corey Perry just fourteen seconds apart.
Duchene then took advantage of a breakdown in communication between the US defence, taking the puck and confusing goaltender Jonathan Quick with a simple deke to score his second goal of the game and give Canada a 3-1 lead at the end of a frantic first period.
(Getty Images)
Canada's John Tavares showed off his spectacular puck-handling moves as he dangled his way around Matt Niskanen to put the Canadians up 4-1 after the second period, leaving the United States with a big mountain to climb.
To score more than four goals on arguably the world's best goalie is a tough ask when Carey Price is in top form after missing most of the 2015-16 NHL season due to injury. They got one, but ultimately USA were sent packing after going down 4-2.
After their head coach John Tortorella faced much heat from the media for benching Dustin Byfuglien, the big-hitting defenceman was back for this game but provided little impact.
While his team was built with grit rather than skill in mind to try keep Canada's world-class roster in check, that plan has backfired and you can bet Tortorella will be facing many more questions about what went wrong.
In today's other game, Henrik Lundqvist was back in goal for Sweden, shutting out Finland for a 2-0 victory.
Click above to watch today’s highlights from the World Cup of Hockey.
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