VANCOUVER -- Russia. In hockey, the word alone still evokes greatness and mystery and fear, and before these Olympics began, you figured that Canada might have to face the world's other true hockey superpower for gold. If you had to pick this tournament's dream final, it would be Canada-Russia; if you had to pick the winner, chances are those were your top two choices. Though not necessarily, it should be said, in that order.
Well, the collision has come early. It will be mammoth. And it's here. Russia.
"Hopefully," said Canadian goaltender Roberto Luongo, "it's not our biggest game of the week."
It may well be. Technically, Canada could have been eliminated by Germany last night, but that was a near impossibility. You got the feeling that Germany knew what would happen last night, and Canada knew what would happen last night, and the result was that Canada won 8-2 without having to worry too much about it.
"It's just very difficult to play a team with this much quality when they are comfortable," said German coach Uwe Krupp. "We tried to be an uncomfortable opponent; I don't think we hung in there too long."
Comfortable was the key word there, and that is why the mechanics of how Canada won this game, the scoresheet details, didn't really matter. It's nice that Canada avoided disaster, and pushed our nation into the quarter-finals of the greatest hockey tournament going. It's nice that Shea Weber shot pucks so hard that he cracked the glass and ripped a goal through the mesh that was only detectable via video replay, and that Sidney Crosby's latest line seemed to click, and that Luongo did not disintegrate.
"It was important when we got the fifth [goal] right away at the start of the third, because then you weren't in the grinder for 60 straight minutes," said Canada coach Mike Babcock. "Guys could just play and relax."
But the production from all four lines, the puck movement, the relentless puck possession -- all of that is gone, and it won't come back so easily. The Germans didn't register a shot on goal for the first 11:15, meaning that to that point Canada could have replaced Brodeur with a fire hydrant. This was just Germany. Playtime is over.
Russia, obviously, will be different. Russia, obviously, will be hard.
"Some of those teams play very good team games, but you look at the roster, and the talent that a team like Russia has, it's pretty self-explanatory," said defenceman Scott Niedermayer.
"They've got [Ilya] Kovalchuk, they've got [Evgeni] Malkin, they've got the Russian line," said defenceman Chris Pronger. "They're more than just [Alexander] Ovechkin."
They are a team stocked with the kind of lethal artists that Canada no longer produces; Canada has more depth of talent, but Russia may have more at the upper end. And only one of these teams has a goaltender who has yet to play a challenging game.
This was Luongo's first game since replacing Martin Brodeur as Canada's great padded hope in net; Luongo's only previous game in this tournament was against Norway, which was a similarly foregone conclusion. He has played well in world championships and world cups and in his few playoff appearances, but even in this town, where his presence inspired chants of "Louuuuu", people note that he has yet to win the truly big games.
Well, here's his chance. He is Canada's goaltender, come hell or frozen water. He can redefine his legacy, or he can cement it.
"It was really exciting to play, and it'll be more exciting to play tomorrow," Luongo said.
Exciting? Try easy. Now we find out what Canada is. Now we discover our team.
"I don't think anybody comes in here and is just happy to make the quarter-finals," said Sidney Crosby, who looked to click with his latest wingers, Jarome Iginla and Eric Staal. "I expect it to be a pretty incredible atmosphere."
It could be more than that; it could be myth. Canada, and Russia. In Turin, Russia won this same game, shutting Canada out, sending them careening into a seventh-place disaster. We have no greater hockey rival, no more defining opponent. There are two rock-star teams in this Olympic tournament. By tomorrow evening, there will be one.
"That's the way it came out," said Russia's Sergei Fedorov. "It's the luck of the draw. I could deliberate forever.
"They are under pressure a lot, and they are playing in Canada ... but they are a very, very strong team."
On Wednesday night, these players will labour under the most pressure they have felt in their pressure-filled lives. Towards the end last night the crowd began to chant, "We want Russia," over and over, sending the sound reverberating into the rafters. Russia. Canada. Let the best men win.
Photo: Roberto Luongo of Canada is greeted by teammate Martin Brodeur after their game against Germany on Day 12 of the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics at UBC Thunderbird Arena on February 23, 2010 in Vancouver, Canada. Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
