Canada's Brad Gushue strengthens playoff push with win over Italy in Beijing

After a hitting a bit of a speed bump, Brad Gushue is once again rolling along at the Beijing Olympics

Gushue swept Canada to a 7-3 win over Italy in nine ends on Monday at the Ice Cube in men's curling to improve the team's chances of qualifying for the playoffs. The Canadians have now won two in a row after losing back-to-back games.

"We never really felt like we had an opportunity to be aggressive until the sixth end when we got a two and then again in the ninth [end], so it was a matter of just being patient and not taking any unnecessary chances," Gushue said.

There are 10 nations in the women's curling tournament, with each team playing nine games. The top four at the end of the round robin advance to the medal round. Canada (4-2) is in third, behind Sweden (6-0) and Great Britain (5-1). The Russian Olympic Committee, United States and Switzerland are tied at 3-3. China (2-4) and Norway (2-4) are just barely alive.

Italy (1-5) and Denmark (1-5) have been officially eliminated from playoff contention.

WATCH: Brad Gushue defeats Italy for Canada's 4th men's curling win at Beijing 2022

In Monday's other results: Sweden beat the Russian Olympic Committee 7-5, Great Britain edged Switzerland 6-5, and Denmark bested Norway 6-5.

"On one side, we are happy because we were able to play a good game against [Canada], especially in the beginning. On the other side, it's frustrating because we know we're out of the competition," Italian skip Joël Retornaz said.

Canada's next game is against China on Monday at 8:05 p.m. ET.

This was the second Olympic contest between Gushue and Retornaz, who posted an unforgettable upset win over the Canadian during the round robin of the 2006 competition in Turin. They also faced off during the