Canada's Brad Gushue snaps 2-game skid with crucial win over U.S. in men's Olympic curling

Brad Gushue and Canada bounced back in a major way with a 10-5 win over defending Olympic gold medallist John Shuster and his American team in the men's curling round robin at the Beijing Games on Sunday morning.

It was a much-needed victory, as Canada (3-2) snapped a two-game losing skid with just four games left to qualify for the semifinals.

They appeared re-energized and sharp against the Americans — taking early control with a steal of four in the second end. Canada was cruising to victory with a commanding 7-1 lead before Shuster suddenly applied pressure by scoring a triple in the sixth end.

Gushue's team held on down the stretch and sealed the victory with a deuce in the ninth end.

WATCH: Canada's Gushue defeats United States' Shuster:

"A big win, especially coming off a couple of losses that we had the last few days. Nice to get a little momentum on our side," Gushue said.

"I thought we played a really solid game. I felt we put a lot of pressure on John [Shuster], especially in the first couple ends, getting that five-point lead we felt pretty comfortable we could handle that.

"It's not easy with the three-rock rule, but just the way we were playing I felt we were going to be in good shape."

Canada got off to a good start in Beijing with back-to-back wins over Denmark (0-4) and Norway (2-2), but they fell short in tough games against Switzerland (3-1) and Sweden (4-0) — who in 2018 won Olympic bronze and silver, respectively.

Gushue is attempting to end Canada's eight-year Olympic drought in four-person curling, with no podium appearances in the men's or women's tournament since winning both in 2014.

The 41-year-old St. John's skip is competing at his first Games since leading Canada to its first men's curling