Canada-USA: A rematch of the 2010 Olympic final with a berth in the gold medal game on the line. It doesn't get any better, unless the game was being broadcast at a proper time and we (self-centred) Westerners didn't have to burn through our employer's bandwidth to watch the action.

Just like in Vancouver both teams have taken drastically different paths to their showdown. So who has the edge? Let's break it down.

Only in Canada can an undefeated round robin turn into a crisis.

Canada has yet to lose a game heading into the elimination portion of the tournament, but the problem is they aren't beating teams by enough and haven't looked as dominant as they should. Canada looked sloppy early against Norway, and only managed to win 3-1; they pummeled Austria 6-0, soothing the nation's collective nerves somewhat, but then barely eked out a 2-1 overtime win against a stifling Finnish team.

MURICA!!!

National pride was on the line for Canada in Vancouver four years ago and a similar pressure exists in Sochi for the Russians. The added element to this year's Olympics should make for another memorable hockey tournament.

But there is more to these games than just Russian national pride and/or Canadian interloper heartbreaking. There are plenty of players with things to prove or compelling storylines of their own.

Here are some of the interesting players to follow during this year's Olympics.

Canada will have to wait another year before getting a shot at a gold medal.

The USA defeated Canada 5-1 in the IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship semi-finals on Thursday, overwhelming a supposed dream team squad from the opening whistle to the closing horn.

The US will face Sweden in the gold medal game and Canada will take on Russia in the bronze medal game.

How do you put a game like that into words? I’m at a loss. It was easily the biggest hockey game I have ever watched and that is a major understatement. Everything was on the line. The Olympics being held in Vancouver put such enormous pressure on everyone. Olympic Gold wasn’t just on the line, but our national identity as well. I’m not exaggerating. Canadians love hockey more than anything else. Is there another nation that loves anything as much as Canadians love hockey? Hockey is so intrinsically tied to our national identity. Paul Henderson’s goal in the ’72 Summit Series is probably a top-5 moment for Canada as a nation. I’m serious. It matters that much to us. So, being challenged so fiercely in our own game, in our own country, that certainly felt like an attack on our identity.

Failure was not an option. This was the most stressful sporting event I have ever witnessed. They couldn’t lose. I don’t know how I would react. The nation would be in a daze. Our collective spirits shattered. I had such a nervous energy this whole morning. My friends and I went to the local bar early to ensure we had good seats, but that was almost worse than waiting around at home. Waiting for the game to start was excruciating. Watching the game was almost torture. Every American rush down the ice was frightening. Jonathan Toews’ opening goal was the biggest relief. There was such a stress coursing through my body and that goal helped calm me down. It was certainly a huge relief for the Canadian team. It made Miller seem beatable. They didn’t have to play with the added pressure of rallying from behind under the collective tension of 17,000 + fans.

After Canada’s win over Switzerland I was fully prepared to write a post belittling the notion that there was any goaltending controversy on team Canada. Luongo received his obligatory game against the Norwegians, but Marty would take it from there. I was fully convinced Marty was unflappable. He had this.

Well, that was before last night’s…incident. 4 goals and only 18 saves. Ouch. This performance was worse since Ryan Miller stood on his head at the other end of the rink and stopped 42 of 45 shots. Canada severely outplayed the Americans, but Miller severely outplayed Brodeur and Kesler severely outworked Perry to pot the clinching goal. It was that simple. That was the game.

It was a terribly disappointing finish. The extra salt in my wounds is that I now owe my Buffalonian friend a 2-4 of the “finest” Canadian beer I can find. Last night my mood was so unstable I contemplated buying Laker and warming it up in the oven. Thankfully for her my mood has stabilized relatively. Relatively.

I came home from a friend’s last night and met my Dad in the hallway. We just looked at each other and nodded. Nothing needed to be said. Just complete shock. Too much anger to even say anything.

It’s a bit of an understatement to suggest that the men’s Olympic hockey tournament is important. It’s especially important for Canadians, not only because it’s in Canada, but because of the absolute debacle in Torino four years ago. Too bad USA Basketball already coined the Redeem Team. There is a lot at stake for the Russians as well. This is a chance at the ultimate retribution for the game 8 loss incurred in Russia over 30 years ago during the Summit Series. Teams like Sweden and Finland are being overlooked by the media as serious contenders for the Gold medal, despite being the two finalists in 2006. They have motivation to defend their national honour and prove that Gold isn't just a two-nation race.

There is not only a lot at stake for each country, but there is a lot at stake for certain players. Of course we all understand the pressure on players like Crosby and Ovechkin, but it’s highly probable that these players will perform to our expectations regardless of how high they are. We know how good these guys are. It's unlikely they will change our perception of them, barring some cataclysmic collapse. But there are many players throughout the tournament that have something to prove. 

Who will use this tournament to catapult themselves into national superstardom like Jarome Iginla did in 2002? Who will elevate their game to the next level and prove their critics wrong? Who will become this year’s Tommy Salo and have their career self-destruct before our eyes?

Here is a list of the players with the most to prove and those with the most to gain from these Olympics.

The greatest period in American hockey is over. Stars of the 80s and 90s like Brian Leetch, Pat LaFontaine, Tony Amonte, John LeClair, Jeremy Roenick, Darien Hatcher, and Mike Richter have all retired. Players like Keith Tkachuk, Mike Modano, and (amazingly) Chris Chelios are all close to the end of their careers. These are the players that led the USA to its most successful era ever, which included a win at the World Cup in 1996 and an Olympic Silver medal at the 2002 Salt Lake Games.

The Silver medal team was a group largely composed of older American players listed above and it briefly looked like there would be a void of American talent upon their retirement. The younger American players at the time, such as Chris Drury and Adam Deadmarsh, failed to develop into stars, which made the departure of long-time American stalwarts even worse.

There is now a young contingent of American players that are poised to once again bring the United States to the upper-echelon in international hockey. This year's Olympic squad proves that. The team is sacrificing experienced players like Mike Modano and Scott Gomez for many players who aren't even 25.