Powerhouse Canada on impressive roll heading into World Cup semifinal

in Saturday’s semifinal of the World Cup of Hockey, winners of 13 straight best-on-best games dating back to 2010. The Canadians rolled through the preliminary round in Toronto with next to no real tension. They outscored their Czech, American and European foes 14-3, trailed for all of 89 seconds and led for more than 50 minutes in each of the three contests.

Though Russia’s recent history at tournaments featuring the game’s top players is riddled with disappointment, including a fifth-place showing on home ice at the 2014 Olympics, they pose by far the biggest threat to Canada yet.

If sometimes disappointing, Russia’s lineup again inspires fear. Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko front a dangerous top line with Evgeni Malkin, Nikita Kucherov, and Calder Trophy winner Artemi Panarin hovering just below. There’s enough game-breaking talent here to threaten the Canadians in a single-elimination setting.

“For us, there can’t be any casual moments with how dangerous some of these players are,” said fourth-line centre and penalty killer Ryan O’Reilly. “You give them opportunity they’re going to create and they’re going to bury them and make us pay.”

What’s really in question, though, is how Russia will match up with Canada.

There’s little breathing room in a Canadian lineup that starts with Sidney Crosby, continues with Steven Stamkos and ends with Joe Thornton and Matt Duchene, the latter tied for the tournament lead with four points. Canada is so deep that even slowing Crosby and linemates, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, means contending next with Stamkos, Getzlaf and John Tavares. All but two players have at least a point for Canada thus far. Nine different players have scored.

“I think the strength of our game is we can make a team defend(and as a result) they’re just not going to have the energy to come up the ice and make any plays on us,” said said Tavares.