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Canada aiming for improvement with World Cup title in their sights

Canada's Steven Stamkos (91) celebrates his goal against Europe with teammate Ryan Getzlaf (15) during the first period of Game 1 of the World Cup of Hockey finals, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)
Canada’s Steven Stamkos (91) celebrates his goal against Europe with teammate Ryan Getzlaf (15) during the first period of Game 1 of the World Cup of Hockey finals, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 2016, in Toronto. (Frank Gunn/The Canadian Press via AP)

TORONTO – One day after they downed Team Europe 3-1 in the opening game of the World Cup of Hockey final series Canada’s players could only talk about how much better they need to play.

Ralph Krueger’s troops were much better in Game 1 than when the two sides met in the final game of group play, a 4-1 win for Canada. Europe came out firing, challenging Carey Price on the first shift of the game and forcing their opponents to play sloppy at times.

Now one win away from a second straight World Cup title, Canada knows they have to be better to close out Team Europe. They’ve dominated this tournament, averaging 4.4 goals per game, but after a so-so Game 1 performance where they still came out on top, they know there’s a lot to work on ahead of Thursday night.

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“The standard is high,” said Canada forward Corey Perry. “When you look at our game there’s a lot of turnovers, there’s a lot of missed checks. They could have had a couple chances to get up a couple goals. That’s kind of a characteristic of how we play and how we have been playing. Those are just things we have to clean up.”

Canada needed Price more than they have in this tournament in Game 1. From the opening minute to the third period before Patrice Bergeron’s tally regained a two-goal lead, Team Europe threatened to perform an upset in Game 1, but in the end they just couldn’t find a way to claw back.

Through any struggles in this tournament Canada has found ways to win games. Their only blemish is a pre-tournament loss to the U.S., which they revenged in their second group game. Ryan O’Reilly says they want to be “perfect out there,” which is a high bar but one not far from the talents that make up the assembled roster.

The Canadian players believe there’s still another level to reach, which is quite scary when you think about it. They’re still aiming to get better while on the cusp of another international title.

“I really feel we haven’t had a full consistent game throughout,” O’Reilly said. “I think every game we’ve looked at said, OK, this area we’ve got to be better, this area we’ve got to be better. The games we’re giving up the fewest goals are the best ones for us.”

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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!