Europe needs skill, luck to take best-of-three against Canada

TORONTO — It will take an upset of monumental proportion for Team Europe to edge Canada twice in the best-of-three World Cup of Hockey final.

Here are a few things to consider about the matchup:

Can you contain Crosby?

So far the answer has been a resounding no.

Sidney Crosby has hovered in his own space at the World Cup, one step (and sometimes two) ahead of every opponent.

He’s scored the first goal in three of Canada’s four wins, mustering at least in point in every game but one. The 29-year-old leads the World Cup with seven points, including a hearty three-point performance against Russia in the tournament semifinals.

Crosby just the start

Even if Europe manages to contain Crosby, Canada still has three other tough lines to tangle with.

Ryan Getzlaf, John Tavares and Steven Stamkos were an especially heavy force against Russia, finally breaking through against Sergei Bobrovsky with Tavares’ first goal of the tournament in the third period. Held without a goal so far, Stamkos looks to be due. The Tampa Bay Lightning captain had a fine onetime chance against Bobrovsky that was ultimately denied.

Jonathan Toews, Corey Perry and Logan Couture will likely be tasked with shutting down Europe’s top line of Anze Kopitar, Marian Hossa and Tomas Tatar, but they’re hardly slouches in the offensive end. Toews and Couture both have four points and Perry’s scored a pair of goals.

Matt Duchene has two goals and four points to lead Canada’s fourth line.

Europe will need some magic

More than six years have ticked by since Canada lost even once in a best-on-best format. Beating the Canadians twice seems like a tall, near impossible task for Europe.

“They pretty much bull-rushed through everybody to the final and we’re going to have to play our very best,” Kopitar said. “There can’t be an area where we can’t be good at.”

Halak must outplay Price

Jaroslav Halak will likely need two heroic performances to give his team any kind of chance against the Canadians.

He made 42 saves in the preliminary round defeat, sturdy certainly just not quite to the level required for victory.

Sergei Bobrovsky offered a 40-minute demonstration of the kind of performance Halak will need not only once, but twice for Europe to somehow upset Canada.