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Sidney Crosby and Canada Won Again, Obviously

Backed by tournament MVP Sidney Crosby, Canada won the World Cup of Hockey with a 2-1 come-from-behind victory over Team Europe. There was never really any doubt.
Crosby was a force at the World Cup, taking home tournament MVP. Photo by Bruce Bennett/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Sports

The clinching game may not have been as easy as it was supposed to be, but Canada won the World Cup of Hockey.

Despite going down early and trailing for most of Thursday night, Canada proved to be the best hockey nation in the world and stepped up when it needed to most. After Team Europe's Anze Kopitar took a penalty late in the third, much to the displeasure of former teammate Marian Gaborik, Patrice Bergeron tipped in a Brent Burns point shot for the equalizer.

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Just a minute later, with the game tied 1-1, Canada found itself shorthanded after Drew Doughty took a high-sticking penalty, but instead of merely killing off the penalty and hoping for overtime, Canada did what any dominant team would do: it went for the win. Jonathan Toews streaked down the ice and dropped the puck for Brad Marchand, who made no mistake as he sniped it past Jaroslav Halak for the moment of the tournament, putting the Canadians up for good with less than a minute remaining.

Sick feed by Toews sets up Marchand's World Cup winning goal — Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn)September 30, 2016

Canada has now won 16 straight best-on-best international hockey games, including two Olympic gold medals, proving to be far and away the best hockey nation in the world. The Canadians outscored their opponents 24-8 in the World Cup, riding a healthy Carey Price to victory.

Crosby was named MVP after scoring a tournament-high 10 points. His line, which included Bergeron and Marchand, scored half of Canada's 24 goals at the World Cup. The team's captain stepped it up in big moments and looked dominant throughout the tournament, proving yet again that's he's the best player in the world.

Canadian hockey is truly in a golden era, similar to USA basketball. We can now say with confidence that Canada owns hockey.

For more World Cup of Hockey stories, check out our full coverage here.