World Cup of Hockey Gamethread: Day 4, RIVALRY NIGHT

Team Finland vs. Team Sweden

Where: Air Canada Center, Toronto Ontario

When: 3pm EST

Where to Watch: ESPN, SN, TVAsports

Bruins Playing: Rinne looked terrible so there's a good chance Tuukka Rask gets the start against Sweden. If not? Well...

Preview:

Finland and Sweden really don't like each other. Both sides have literally hundreds of years of national rivalry between them, and some of it has even been played on ice! In exhibition, they went 1-1, and they both played each other incredibly well. Their paths in the round robin on the other hand, diverged.

Finland got rocked hard by Team North America early on, gambling on Pekka Rinne being starter quality and losing on it. and Sweden meanwhile ground the Russians into a fine paste that left a lot of people wondering whether or not anyone could actually score on Sweden intentionally. One team wants to get itself back on track, survive to thursday and stick it to Sweden, and the other wants to continue the good vibes they had from rolling over Russia.

It's gonna be good, no matter what happens.

Lines:

The Finnish lines are here, and the starter in all likelyhood will be Tuukka Rask

The Swedish lines are here, and the starter will likely be either Markstrom, who looked good in his game against Russia, or Henrik Lundqvist, who decided after a nasty bout of flu was feeling better. Sweden's coach will make the call closer to the gametime.

USA vs. Canada

Where: Air Canada Center, Toronto, Ontario

When: 8pm EST

Where to Watch: ESPN, SN, TVASports

Bruins Playing: Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron will be playing on Canada's top line alongside Sidney Crosby. David Backes, meanwhile, will be playing in Team USA's depth.

Preview:

Life comes at you fast, doesn't it, Torts.

With Team Europe tearing up the competition in this tournament, Team USA's hope that they could get out of the Round Robin stage currently hangs in the balance of this game. And this one alone. If they lose? It's over. It doesn't matter how they play on thursday. They are out for good. Even the Czechs have an opportunity for things to go very very wrong (admittedly, mostly outside their hands), get a tie breaker to happen, and they could sneak in. USA doesn't even have the courtesy of a pity point. If they lose there is no way they move on no ifs, ands or buts. And already the mainstream hockey media noticed how lopsided and weird the US roster happens to look. Those who are for Team USA might be dispairing, but those who are against them (or were against their management)? This is the kind of thing hatin' ass humans (like me, for example) live for. This is Team USA's chance to prove that their mettle is something that can be taken seriously, and there's a real good chance they could blow it. Especially considering the inspiring roster decisions John Tortorella has made, they really can't afford for this to be a lineup based on a "feeling". This has got to be the best they can put together.

Lines:

Canada's lines are here, and the starter will be Carey Price.

Here's who will be playing for Team USA. HOWEVER...due to the beatdown they received, Torts has declared that he will be making "serious changes" to the way his team looks, so be ready to swap names around. Jonathan Quick is expected to be the starter.

Regardless of your feelings on tonight's marquis matchup, both games are sure to be fantastic examples of international rivalry and the