Music: {allcanada} Canada, Russia ready to play for gold again at WJC

TORONTO -- For the 14th time in tournament history, Canada will play against Russia in the gold-medal game of the 2015 World Junior Championship at Air Canada Center on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NHLN-US).

Each team earned a ticket to the final with semifinal-round victories on Sunday in Toronto. Russia defeated Sweden 4-1; Canada earned a 5-1 win against Slovakia.

"It's special; Canada and Russia, it's one of those great rivalries in hockey," Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey said. "It's always very intense. Hearing the fans chant 'Canada' and 'We want Russia' in the end was pretty cool, it's pretty inspiring."

It will be the eighth gold-medal game between Canada and Russia since 1996. Canada holds a 7-6 lead in the championship-round games. Russia, however, has defeated Canada in the playoff round the past four years, including the bronze-medal games in 2013 and 2014.

"It's going to be unbelievable," Canada forward Connor McDavid said. "I dream of getting this opportunity and we have it in front of us. But we can't look too far ahead because we have a great Russian team next. This is going to be pretty cool [Monday]."

Canada has won three of the past four gold-medal games (2005, 2006, 2007) against Russia, but the latest entry in the storied rivalry occurred in 2011 when Russia scored five unanswered goals in the third period to earn a stunning 5-3 victory in Buffalo.

"We know we have to play a complete 60 minutes of hard hitting and fast-paced hockey against Russia," Canada defenseman Joe Hicketts said. "We expect them to play a fast game too. They play more of a North American style of hockey on this NHL-sized ice. We'll have to get pucks deep and hopefully withstand some of their push-backs."

Russia is certainly riding an emotional high after successive playoff-round victories against the United States (3-2) in the quarterfinals and Sweden (4-1) in the semifinals.

Goaltender Igor Shesterkin (New York Rangers) has stopped 65 of 68 shots over the past two victories and 120 of 126 for the tournament with a 1.50 goals-against average and .952 save percentage. He credited his teammates in the victory against Sweden, which entered the game ranked second in the tournament with 24 goals. Shesterkin and his teammates denied the Swedes on three power-play chances.

"I feel OK; all my teammates have adapted to the pressure and that's why we have done so well the past two games," Shesterkin said.

The Russian offense has been led by the top line of Ivan Barbashev (St. Louis Blues), Paval Buchnevich (New York Rangers) and Vyacheslav Leshenko (2015 draft eligible), which has combined for six goals and 15 points. Forward Alexander Sharov (2015 draft eligible) scored two goals against the Swedes and has four in the tournament.

"We've seen [Canada] games and they have pretty good skilled guys and a couple of them playing in the NHL," Barbashev said. "They have a pretty good team this year. I think it helps that we had a tough road to the final; we had a couple pretty hard games against the United States and Sweden. We know how to play and we'll be playing the same way we played [against Sweden] and [the United States]."

Russia two-way forward Nikolay Goldobin (San Jose Sharks), who has one goal and three points, has found good chemistry alongside Sergei Tolchinski (Carolina Hurricanes) and Vladislav Kamenev (Nashville Predators).

Russia ranks third on the power-play (34 percent efficiency; 11-for-32) and third in penalty killing (85 percent efficiency; 24-for-28) in the tournament. The country has scored 29 goals in seven games to rank second in that category.

"Everybody understands we don't have a chance to have mistakes," Barbashev said. "We know it was kind of brutal in [Group B], but after the quarterfinals and semifinals everybody was together and we play for 100 percent."

Canada's top line of Sam Reinhart (Buffalo Sabres) centering Max Domi (Arizona Coyotes) and Anthony Duclair (New York Rangers) has done well all tournament.

"[Russia] is a strong team," Reinhart said. "They play a physical game and come at you with everybody. We have to keep our pace up against them. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a very physical game."

Reinhart has four goals and 11 points in seven tournament games, Domi has four goals and seven points and Duclair has four goals and nine points. Nicolas Petan (Winnipeg Jets) scored a hat trick in the victory against Slovakia on Sunday and now has seven goals and a team-leading 14 points.

Connor McDavid, the projected No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, notched three more assists against Slovakia to boost his scoring totals to two goals and 13 points with 25 shots on goal.

McDavid entered the tournament having missed five weeks after sustaining a right hand injury on Nov. 11, but he has a goal and five assists in the past two victories in the playoff round. McDavid still remembers losing to Russia in the bronze-medal game at the 2014 WJC in Malmo, Sweden, and is looking forward to playing in what is sure to be an emotional night in Toronto for all Canadians.

"I can't really explain it; it's a feeling that you're going to have to feel when you skate out there," he said. "Every time you skate on the ice at the ACC, the fans are going crazy. It's so exciting every time."

Canada captain Curtis Lazar (Ottawa Senators) has come up big in the clutch for his country, scoring five goals and 12 points in the tournament. Defensively, Darnell Nurse (Edmonton Oilers) and Shea Theodore (Anaheim Ducks) will look to shut down Russia's top line, just as they did center Jack Eichel, a projected top-two choice in the 2015 draft, and his linemates in a 5-3 preliminary-round victory on New Year's Eve.

Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets) not only has three points and a plus-six rating for Canada, but he has been a big physical presence in every area of the ice. Goaltender Zachary Fucale (Montreal Canadiens), who has started the past two games and has allowed one goal on 29 shots, has performed well when his number has been called early in each game of the playoff round.

"Canada versus Russia is something you dream of," Hicketts said. "That rivalry has been around since the 1972 Summit Series that I have been told about and see highlights all the time. It's going to be something special."

Happy Gilmore / Ghostbusters