Team Canada thriving under pressure

TORONTO -- From the outset of the World Cup of Hockey 2016, and throughout his successful career behind a bench, Team Canada coach Mike Babcock has spoken to the beauty of pressure.
Feeling the weight of expectation means you have something to play for, and no one knows that better than Babcock's team in this tournament.
Team Canada is safely into the semifinals after a 4-2 victory against Team USA at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday, buoyed by the support of an adoring fan base in Toronto and across the country.

"I like pressure, I think everybody does on that team. We expect it," said Matt Duchene, who was named First Star after he scored Team Canada's first and third goals. "Growing up, when I watched [Joe] Sakic and [Steve] Yzerman and [Mario] Lemieux and on and on and on put on that Canadian jersey, I expected them to win. I wanted them to win. That's engrained in you as a kid. When you get here, it's an expectation that we take very seriously. It's a big honor to put on that jersey (that) we want to represent the best we can.
"It's pretty awesome. I've not put on the Canadian jersey since under-17 in front of Canadian fans. To be on 'the' Team Canada in Toronto, that's what you dream about."
John Tavares celebrated his 26th birthday Tuesday with a robust third-star performance that included an assist on Patrice Bergeron's goal.

"I don't think [Babcock] and the coaching staff worry about [pressure] too much," Tavares said. "As a group, we have guys who've had a lot of success and a lot of big moments, whether it's the Stanley Cup Final, Olympics, World Championship, World Juniors and obviously playoff games.
"You're playing for your country in Canada, that's what you dream about as a kid. This is the opportunity where you go out there and have fun and compete. We believe in our group. And that's what we've done. We've looked at this as a great opportunity. I think we feed off [pressure to win], I don't think we feel it as a weight on our shoulders."
Defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic, who had an assist on Duchene's first goal, is embracing the expectations that go with pulling on the Maple Leaf on home ice.
"If you have a Canadian jersey on, you're expected to win," Vlasic said. "It doesn't matter where you are. It's nice to play in your home country and have the fans behind you.
"Guys here have always had pressure on them, playing in the playoffs for their respective NHL teams. These guys are professionals. We enjoy it."
It's night and day, Vlasic added, between wearing an NHL jersey, in his case that of the San Jose Sharks, and the red and white of Team Canada.
"A club jersey, I'm only playing for a million people," he said. "When I put on the Maple Leaf, I'm playing for 30 million. There's a huge difference."
Team Canada goaltender Carey Price has won Olympic and IIHF World Junior Championship gold for his country. He will return to the Montreal Canadiens training camp when the World Cup is done, further enriched by the experience of seeing some of the greatest players in the game rush the puck away from him or crush the bodies of opponents who get near his crease.

"It's really a pleasure watching so many great players in the dressing room interacting and preparing," said Price, who made 34 saves. "You can learn a lot just sitting and watching how captains from other teams carry themselves. It's a really fun place to be."
Even as he retreats into his bubble of focus, blocking out all distraction around him, Price says he can feel the support of Air Canada Centre fans, admitting it feels "a little bit weird" to hear his name chanted in support in the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"When we come out for the start of the game, it's electric. Everybody back home is really supportive. I know I'm really monotone," Price said with a laugh, "but I am really having a lot of fun."
The day before this tournament began, Babcock spoke to the pressure this team would face, and the picture he painted was one much broader than just the World Cup.
"Pressure is a privilege," said Babcock, hockey's only Triple Gold coach, with victories in the Stanley Cup Final, Olympics and World Championship. "If you don't have any pressure, it means you have no chance. Do you want to come to the tournament with no chance or do you want to come to the tournament with pressure?
"Every guy who is used to competing at the highest level, they like 50/50 opportunities. Eighty/20 doesn't even get them to sweat or get excited. They like 50/50 opportunities where they've got to find a way to overcome it and be in it. That's why you're in it. And I think that's the excitement of it.
"For me, I wouldn't have it any other way. I don't think our guys would, either. We're proud to be Canadian. We're proud to be from here. We're proud to represent Canadian hockey. We think it's our job. That doesn't guarantee anything. But I know if you get up every day and you give her your best and you go home and love your family and do it again the next day, things work out OK."
After two convincing victories in the World Cup, Babcock's team is more than OK. And if the pressure is mounting as things start to get serious in this tournament, there isn't a player who seems to be feeling it.