Canada taking the long route in men's hockey at Beijing Olympics

BEIJING — Eric Staal is choosing to look at the situation in a positive light.

He doesn't have much choice.

Canada's Olympic men's hockey team is set to play in the qualification round of the Beijing Games against China after failing to secure one of the top four seeds and an automatic bye into the quarterfinals.

The Canadians finished second in Group A with victories over Germany and the host nation, but were undone by a 20-minute stretch in a 4-2 loss to the United States that was ultimately the difference in both that contest and the pool standings.

"This tournament is all about developing as you move forward," Staal, Canada's captain in Beijing, said in the wake of Sunday's 5-0 victory over China. "But obviously stakes get raised, right? It's you lose, you're done. That's the big thing moving forward. Our guys know that.

"We'll be preparing the right way and be ready to go for the next one."

That next one will be a rematch against the Chinese back at National Indoor Stadium on Tuesday at 9:10 p.m. local time (8:10 a.m. ET).

"We know they play a hard game and they have a lot of pride," said Canadian forward Corban Knight, tied for the team lead with two goals in three games. "It's not going to be easy."

In reality, it should be.

Even minus its best after the NHL withdrew from the Olympics because of COVID-19 concerns, the gulf in both talent and depth is vast.

China, with 18 players who were born or grew up in North America, was outscored 16-2 in its three round-robin games, but kept things close in a 3-2 loss to Germany.

"We're going to get another shot at them," Ivano Zanatta, China's Toronto-born head coach, said of Canada. "The only thing we can do is organize, get our bodies together again, get a good rest and be