Today is the big matchup that feels like the reason this whole tournament was setup for in the first place. This evening Canada will take on their border rivals as the United States tries to keep hope alive in this tournament.

If the United States doesn't win they are cooked. If Canada doesn't win they are still in the driver's seat for their destiny.

The United States built their team with one goal in mind. Defeat the Canadians. So far through two exhibition games Canada displayed that they are the much better team and controlled the flow of the game. The United States will more than likely attempt to play a 1-0 game which usually means everything has to go right. This isn't the most prudent plan considering the talent level of the Canadians. While not probable it isn't impossible.

So what should we look for in this game?

How does John Tortorella handle his bench?

Yesterday John Tortorella talked about how he is going to go with the players who show them they are ready to play out of the gate. He will shorten his bench as he sees fit. What if some of his more skilled players happen to have a bad shift at the beginning of the game? Is he going to bench them? History says yes and if that is the case it will only help Canada. Doling out ice time based on ultra small in game samples doesn't seem like the best idea to maximize production. The United States needs to play their best skilled players (the few they have) more often. Guys like Kane, Pacioretty, Pavelski, Wheeler, and Parise at forward while utilizing Dustin Byfuglien as much as humanly possible on defense.

What Jonathan Quick will be in net?

Jonathan Quick is a polarizing player to talk about. He has shown the ability to be brilliant (2011-12) and he has also shown the ability to be terrible. That isn't unlike most goalies in the league. His pedigree speaks to him being brilliant more times than not and I don't believe that to be the case. He is a slightly above league average goaltender who has wild variance. He is accustomed to getting fairly emotional if things don't go as planned. If Canada pops a goal or two early will he keep his composure? Fair or not Jonathan Quick has literally no room for error in this contest. As mentioned above the US is probably trying to play a super low scoring match.

Also, it appears some gamesmanship is being utilized by the Canadians

John Tavares says Jonathan Quick's #LAKings teammates provided some tips on his tendencies ahead of tonight's Canada-U.S. game.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) September 20, 2016

Will Canada stay the course?

The nice thing about being the better team is that you can focus on yourself and what you need to do. The Americans are going to try and be abrasive and take Canada off their game. If they can show the proper restraint and focus their emotion on the skill side of things this game shouldn't pose a problem. Canada is the favorite and the only way I see them being stopped is if they are their own worst enemy and stray from their very successful script. There shouldn't be any lineup changes forthcoming

No changes expected to Canada's lineup tonight. pic.twitter.com/2EnuvUHmYX

— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) September 20, 2016

Here are the clinching scenarios

A closer look at Tuesday's clinching scenarios. #WCH2016 pic.twitter.com/g0ylXFRb6A

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) September 20, 2016

Should be an interesting game regardless of outcome.

Thanks for reading!

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