TORONTO -- The last time center John Tavares won a best-on-best hockey tournament for Canada, he was on crutches.
Tavares injured his left knee in Canada's 2-1 win against Latvia in the quarterfinals of the 2014 Sochi Olympics, ending his 2013-14 season. When Canada defeated Sweden 3-0 in the gold medal game, Tavares couldn't even get into his equipment for the celebration. He had to stand on the ice on crutches until some of his teammates came to give him a hand.
"A couple of guys grabbed me as I came out on to the ice and brought me into the pile," Tavares said Thursday. "Those are the moments you want to be a part of. Obviously you want to be in the battles and contributing the best you can. I'm not complaining, I've still got a gold medal around my neck, but you hope to play in those games and those opportunities."
Tavares, 26, will get that chance Thursday when he suits up for Team Canada against Team Europe in Game 2 of the best-of-3 final at World Cup of Hockey 2016 (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2, CBC, TVA, TVA Sports).
If Team Canada wins, Tavares will be in uniform. He will have his equipment on. He will have fully earned the moment.
It's difficult for him not to think about it, even though the result is what all hockey players try to avoid thinking about.
"I think everybody's human," he said. "We certainly know we're one game from being there. But I think as the day goes on, you just try to approach it as normal as possible, try to prepare as normal as you can. We have to be at our best, we're playing against a very good team. They gave us a really good test last game, so we know they're going to be prepared.
"You just try to get into the flow of the game, one shift at a time and being ready for that next shift and executing. Hopefully it all ends up to getting you the result you want."
If there is a day when Team Canada needed to focus on process more than any other, it would be with a World Cup championship within its grasp. All the external distractions and thoughts of winning another best-on-best title could be heightened for Team Canada.
Some, like forward Logan Couture, don't anticipate having any problems managing it. He said the only time he had trouble getting to sleep for his game day nap was before his first NHL game on Oct. 25, 2009, and that includes playing in the Stanley Cup Final with the San Jose Sharks three months ago.
Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby also played in that Final, and won it with the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was his second Stanley Cup to go with his two Olympic gold medals with Canada. But Crosby said his previous triumphs only make him appreciate opportunities like this one even more.
"It's exciting as a player to kind of be in those situations," Crosby said. "It's not every day you get to be in those scenarios. I think with each one, you gain more of an appreciation for it and understand there's only a short window to be a hockey player in the NHL, and not everyone gets those type of opportunities.
"So when you do get them, I think you just try to make the most of them and try to have fun with it. But there's always kind of a heightened sense of anticipation on those days, and that's why you love to play the game, for games like that."
In this game, there will be one Team Canada player who might love it a bit more than his teammates. And he won't be on crutches.
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