And so Canada beat Finland on Monday.

Don't you love the world hockey championship?

For most Canadians, this is how deep the affinity is for the hockey worlds. When we win, they're great. Way to go, boys.

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Canada gets the early quarter-final game today against Norway, but the best game might well be the late one: the United States against Finland.

It is a rematch of Sunday's wild 202-penalty-minute Finnish come-from-behind 3-2 win.

Both teams see themselves as legitimate threats for the world championship gold medal that will be handed out in Quebec City on Sunday.

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When Team USA plays Finland in the quarterfinals of the world championships Wednesday, the working conditions are probably going to be more like the Americans expect in their regular jobs.

"It's going to be real gritty game, more like an NHL-style game," said USA Hockey assistant executive director Jim Johannson. "There wasn't a lot of space out there in the last game."

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Being down 3-0 in the Western Conference finals isn’t even the worst part for the Dallas Stars.

This is: Dallas has yet to lead the Detroit Red Wings for a single second in any game this series.

How can the Stars fathom winning four straight games under those circumstances?

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Ryan Whitney’s wide smile told several stories.

He and the Pittsburgh Penguins are one win away from the Stanley Cup finals, and the path was paved by his goal that was three months in the making. Quick strikes by Whitney and Marian Hossa raised the Penguins to heights not reached since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr donned the black and gold.

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I have a confession to make: I lived in Philadelphia for four happy years. Yes, it’s true. I know and love many Philadelphians, and I think Philly is a wonderful city. I have, in the past, cheered for the Eagles, and if I were to choose a National League baseball team to cheer for, I might choose the Phillies. While I lived in Philly, I cared not one whit about the Sixers or the Flyers.

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A 6-3 Canadian victory against Finland Monday at the 2008 World Championship in Halifax sealed Canada's place atop Group F.

The Canadians pulled away from the Finns in the second period when they extended their 2-1 lead with goals from Dany Heatley and Patrick Sharp.

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While 4 teams are still vying for this years prize, the Buffalo Sabres are focusing on getting themselves set up for the future.

Last week, GM Darcy Regier announced the signing of prospect Nathan Gerbe out of Boston College. Gerbe, a Hobey Baker Award finalist, had an outstanding year in leading the BC Eagles to the NCAA Division I Championship. Gerbe tallied 35 goals and 33 assists, good for 68 points. In his collegiate career, Gerbe had 133 points on 71 goals and 62 assists.

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At 6-foot-4 and 210 pounds, Niagara IceDogs defenseman Alex Pietrangelo has the size of a Chris Pronger.

The question scouts have asked is can Pietrangelo match Pronger's ability to use his size in a successfully nasty way. The answer could decide where Pietrangelo is chosen when the 30 NHL teams meet in Ottawa for the 2008 Entry Draft, June 20-21.

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Brandon Dubinsky (Anchorage, Alaska/New York Rangers) scored three times to help the U.S. Men's National Team to a 9-1 victory over Norway in the final qualifying-round game for both teams at the 72nd annual International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship.

"I was certainly pleased with the way we came back and played after a very tough game yesterday," said John Tortorella, head coach of Team USA. "We'll look forward to a good practice tomorrow and get ready for the quarterfinal game on Wednesday."

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This is how ridiculously good the Detroit Red Wings are playing: They lose the NHL's top scorer this postseason and their regular-season scoring leader steps up with the first hat trick of his entire career while one of his linemates scores a demoralizing short-handed goal.

Pavel Datsyuk scored twice in the first period and again with 2:41 left, and Henrik Zetterberg added two assists and the short-hander, sending Detroit past the Dallas Stars 5-2 on Monday night for a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.

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Maxime Talbot's pre-game nap Sunday afternoon included a wishful thought. The Pittsburgh Penguins checker was back in the lineup after missing three games with a foot injury and wanted to return with a splash.

"I was in bed this afternoon thinking, `It would be nice to score a goal and make a big comeback,"' Talbot said. "You think about stuff like that and sometimes it happens. It's a great feeling."

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When Tim Thomas [stats] headed home from Halifax, Nova Scotia, last week after suffering a minor knee sprain that ended his stay at the world championships, you might imagine the Bruins [team stats] goalie was relieved to call it a season and start his vacation after eight months of intense hockey.

Wrong.

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A controversial goal by Ville Koistinen sparked a huge comeback as Team Finland rallied with three unanswered goals in the third period to edge the United States 3-2 in the qualifying round at the 2008 IIHF World Championship.

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Really, it’s hard to imagine that Chris Osgood is completely correct in his assessment.

“Just a little altercation that’s over with now,” the Detroit goalie insisted Sunday, a day after the Red Wings’ 2-1 victory over the Dallas Stars was marred by an ugly ending.

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