from the CP at TSN,

Canada not only won the last battle for international hockey supremacy, but owned it.

The Canadians rarely had to defend at the 2014 Olympics in Sochi because they hogged the puck so much. They spent what seemed like endless stretches in the offensive zone and surrendered only three goals all tournament, while shutting out Sweden and the United States in the final and semifinal.

"But what won in 2014 isn't going to win this time," Team Canada's head coach Mike Babcock said.

It's partly the residue of that display, however, as well as the deepest roster in the tournament that has the Canadians looking rightfully like heavy favourites for the World Cup of Hockey.

"The expectations for us maybe are a little bit higher, but we don't take anything for granted," Canadian general manager Doug Armstrong said in a recent interview. "To think that we're just going to go there and just put the jerseys on and win because we throw the jerseys on, our guys are much more mature and smarter than that."

Regardless, this is indeed Canada's tournament to lose.

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