QUEBEC -- One minute 12 seconds.
That is the sum total of time Canada has spent trailing in a hockey game at the world championship - with now but a single game to play for the gold medal.
The Canadians, winners here 5-4 in a thrilling back-and-forth game against the Swedes, will now play against the Russians tomorrow afternoon for world bragging rights.
Oddly enough, the two hockey giants have never met before in a gold medal final, as in earlier years the podium placings were decided by final standings rather than a winner-take-all game.
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"Good luck," Swedish coach Bengt-Ake Gustaffson told Canadian coach Ken Hitchcock at the end of their postgame news conference.
"Beat the Russians now."
The Canadians beat the Swedes, barely, much to the disappointment of Gustaffson but not at all to the 13,026 in attendance at the Colisée Pepsi, most of whom were cheering wildly for the home side.
It was a hard-fought victory in a game that soared above the dreary afternoon match that decided Russia would play tomorrow for the big prize, virtue of their easy 4-0 win over Finland.
Finland and Sweden will play today in a rematch of their 2006 Turin Olympics gold-medal final - only this time it will be for bronze.
The Canadians were challenged continually by the relatively unknown Swedes - playing without their big NHL names - and answered each time.
"When we get pushed," Hitchcock said, "we have this other gear to go to."
They needed a passing gear at one point when the Swedes briefly took the lead early in the second period.
Canada's rushing defenceman Mike Green had raced up the ice and ripped a shot off the Swedish goalpost, only to see the puck rebound out to a Swedish rush that ended with Nicolas Wallin jamming the puck in under Canadian netminder Pascal Leclaire.
"You get a shot like that," Green said, "and you think it's going in."
The lead was lost only briefly, however, with Green helping to restore matters to normal when he fed Ryan Getzlaf for the tying goal.
"You're not going to have the lead all the time," Leclaire said. "There's not a lot of panic in our group."
There wasn't. Green simply seemed to turn it up a notch after hitting the goalpost and the Swedish goal. He ended with a three-point night, including a coast-to-coast rush and a goal on a hard slap shot when Canada was on a 5-on-3 power play in the final moments of the second period.
The Swedes had been effectively killing a penalty when a wayward stick gashed Jason Spezza's cheek during a goalmouth scramble. With Swedish defenceman Jonas Frogren sent off for four minutes, the Canadians got the insurance goal and moved into a 5-3 lead entering the third period.
The Swedes, unlike the Finns, did not fade when the game seemed out of reach. They began the third period with a goaltending switch - sending in Michael Tellqvist to replace star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist - and Tellqvist kept the Canadians at bay, including a Rick Nash breakaway that failed to produce a goal.
Leclaire was strong in the Canadian end but let numerous rebounds go, one coming near the end of the game that allowed Sweden's Fredrik Warg to loop around the net and poke the goal in on a backhand.
That brought the score to 5-4, but the Canadians easily held on to win.
Canada's Big Line - Rick Nash, Getzlaf and Dany Heatley - were once again dominant, with Heatley scoring early in the game to move into a tie with Eric Lindros (1993) for the most goals by a Canadian, 11, in world championship play in modern times.
Nash also scored for Canada, as did Jamal Mayers when a bungled Swedish defensive play left him all alone with the puck in front of Lundqvist.
Lundqvist could not be blamed for the loss. Nor could the absence of top Swedish defenceman Kenny Jonnson, out with an injury.
It was not a story of blame, but of credit, and the Canadian team was full value this night when it most needed to be.
"This was by far the toughest game," Nash said. "Pascal kept us in the game."
Leclaire, who made 30 saves, will not be in the game tomorrow unless he replaces Cam Ward. Hitchcock said at game's end he intends to continue with his goalie-rotation policy right through to the final match.
That final game will feature teammates against teammates in Green and Russian sensation Alexander Ovechkin. They play together on the Washington Capitals, along with Ovechkin's Russian teammates Alexander Semin and Sergei Fedorov.
"I know Alex," Green said. "And when he's playing for his country, he's going to be something special."
The secret to success, the swift-skating Canadian defenceman added, is to "just make sure you take away Ovechkin - and make sure Semin and Fedorov don't pass to him."
It will be a tall order.
But, if this semi-final between Sweden and Canada was any preview, it will also be a great game.
Russia romps, page 8
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