Canada's top line of Rick Nash, Ryan Getzlaf and Dany Heatley, here celebrating a goal against Sweden in the semifinal, can match skill and toughness with anyone in the world. So can the Russian's unit of Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and Sergei Federov. (Andrew Vaughan/Canadian Press)

Fans of a certain age may take a moment to look back in wonder on Sunday afternoon when Canada and Russia take to the ice for the gold medal game at the world hockey championship in Quebec City (1 p.m., ET).

Has it really been 36 years since the 1972 series pitting the NHL stars of Canada against the pros of the Soviet Union in the most famous series ever?

While everyone's wondering where the time went, give a little thought to where that type of game has gone.

Then, it was the pugnacious, emotional, broken-nosed, blatantly violent, heavy-fisted Canucks against the sharp passing, highly skilled, sneaky, dirty and emotionless Big Red Machine.

Now? The great-grandsons of Anatole Tarasov, father of Soviet hockey, are a passionate, skilled, hard-nosed bunch who can play it any way you want. After all, most trade face washes with other NHLers all year.

And the great-grandsons of Lester Patrick and Conn Smythe? They're still passionate and emotional, but they can match skills with any opponent, intimidate those susceptible to such things but put it all aside if the situation warrants.

"You've got two teams that have a lot of good, young, dynamic players," said Team Canada coach Ken Hitchcock, who admits trying to run the Russians out of the rink would be a bad idea because they're used to that kind of play now.

Instead, this will be all about skill.

"As much as we're excited, we're also curious to see how our good young players play versus their good young players," he said. "It'll be a challenge for both teams."

Canada's good young players, who will try to become the first home team to win this thing since 1986, are led by their top line of Rick Nash, Ryan Getzlaf and Dany Heatley — creative scorers all who can dig around for the puck and show their emotions readily. They have 20 goals so far in this tournament.

Russia's top trio features what's being called the Capital Punishment line, with Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin and an old guy — Sergei Federov — who all play on the Washington Capitals.

Those old emotionless Soviets would probably love Ovechkin, as he's symbolic of a new spirit they all hoped for.

The way he celebrates goals, by the way, is so over the top if he had done it in front of old coach Viktor Tikhonov back in the 1970s or 1980s, it might have bought him a summer vacation in Siberia.

What is the same as back then is the goaltending. Evgeni Nabokov for the Russians does a good impression of Vladislav Tretiak.

And Cam Ward, in net Sunday for Canada because of his Stanley Cup experience, could have held his own with Ken Dryden and Tony Esposito.

History doesn't lie as heavily on the Canadians, who have won 17 games in a row at the worlds and are the defending champs, as it does on the Russians who are without a victory since 1993.

Unthinkable in the Soviet era.

Ovechkin, who was six in 1993, doesn't seem to care.

"I think right now the history is done," he said. "Thirty years [ago] we beat everybody. For 15 years, Canada already beat everybody.

"We don't want to look at history. We want to play this day."

As for the Canadians, weaned on tales of Paul Henderson's winning goal in Game 8 of the Summit Series, and on the 1976 Canada Cup triumph, and Mario Lemieux in 1987, and so much more, there's a bit more of a feeling of being part of something special.

"It's something that as a Canadian you remember all that stuff," said Shane Doan. "I remember hearing the stories and watching the videos."

As Ovechkin might say, that was then, this is now.

Wonder how he might feel about history if Russia wins this one?