Patrick King

Marco Scandella #5 of Team Canada celebrates his second period goal with teammates.

If Canada is going to win the gold medal, they will need to save their best for last.

It was hardly a perfect performance from the Canadians, but the team is off to the gold-medal game at the world junior hockey championship.

Canada shored up many of its inefficiencies from their ugly comeback win over the Americans in Thursday’s final round robin game, but one can’t help but wonder if the best is still yet to come from this team.

The Canadians dramatically improved their handling of the puck and minimized turnovers after the Americans made them pay with two shorthanded goals in their previous meeting.

One of the reasons for the improvement was the return of Oshawa defenceman Calvin de Haan.

The 18-year-old, who missed the previous two games due to injury, is as slick and confident a puck-rusher as the Canadians can roll over the boards and his addition to the lineup gave the team a noticeable boost.

However, a lack of discipline had also haunted the Canadians in the previous game, a tendency that began to repeat itself in the second period against Switzerland.

Veteran players Patrice Cormier and Jordan Eberle were penalized for some unnecessary mistakes, while the Swiss capitalized on another undisciplined boarding penalty by Nazem Kadri.

There are many more positives that can be taken away from the semi-final than the game against U.S.A. Although Switzerland doesn’t boast the offensive firepower of some of the other elite teams, the defence was solid and allowed fewer opportunities.

Swiss forward Nino Niederreiter, who became the darling of the tournament after his performance against the Russians in the quarter-finals, was kept in check. Switzerland appeared more intent on developing and shooting through screens to produce offence, a game-plan which marked its only goal.

Canadian goaltender Jake Allen wasn’t tested often, but he displayed his game-stealing abilities on the few quality scoring chances he faced. Allen had an average game by his standards against Team U.S.A., but he is now showing the moxie that made him Canada’s No. 1 goalie.

There is still work remaining to be done prior to Tuesday’s gold-medal game. The close call against the Americans could end up being a blessing in disguise for the Canadians as they pursue their sixth-consecutive gold medal.

In previous tournaments, Canada’s perceived invincibility worked against them as they would advance through the round robin relatively untested. They would then be criticized for their inability to handle adversity in the gold medal game.

In 2002, Canada led the Russians 3-1 in the second period of the final before surrendering a 5-4 decision.

In 2003, Canada blew another lead in 2003 to the Russians in the gold-medal game, this time after leading 2-1 heading into the third period. The Canadians took home a third-consecutive silver medal in 2004 after seeing a 3-1 third period lead vanish to the U.S.

A last second loss to the Swedes in a round robin game of the 2008 tournament was a humbling experience for Canada, who saw its 20-game winning streak snapped.

Canada then defeated those same Swedes in overtime of the gold-medal game, its fourth of five-consecutive gold-medal finishes.

Since that heartbreaking loss to their southern rivals in 2004, Canada has captured gold in each of the previous five tournaments.

When a country has won five in a row and is playing in front of a home crowd, it becomes easier to get a thick head and get away from playing disciplined hockey.

The Americans gave Canada a huge scare on New Year’s Eve and the players are realizing it isn’t going to be easy. Although the 6-1 final against Switzerland in the semis would indicate a blowout, Canada played a more complete game. With the exception of some penalties in the second period, this team is playing with purpose.

Switzerland will be remembered for its impressive performance in the tournament, particularly without injured defencemen Luca Sbisa and Roman Josi. Perhaps fatigued from Saturday’s emotional quarter-final, Switzerland began falling apart mid-way through the third period, which culminated in some undisciplined penalties of their own that resulted in some power-play goals for Canada.

The Canadian coaching staff won’t need to go back to the drawing board after this game, but they know there is still room for improvement.

If Canada is going to win its record sixth-consecutive gold medal, they will need to save their best performance for last.