Canada will head into the 2018 World Junior Hockey Championship with a singular focus: Avenging last year's gold medal defeat.

The team fell to their rivals to the south in a shootout after blowing two two-goal leads, including a 4-2 third-period advantage.

This year - as always - Canada will enter as one of the favorites, but unlike years past, Canada doesn't have a top-10 draft selection on its roster, so the team will need to win by committee.

With that, here are three players worth keeping an eye on because they could play pivotal roles:

Kale Clague

Big things are expected of Clague largely because he's one of seven returning members from last year's team, but also because of his incredible jump in production.

Through 28 games with the Brandon Wheat Kings, Clague has amassed career highs in goals (10) and points (47), good enough to lead all WHL defenders.

Clague is expected to be on the team's top pairing alongside Nashville Predators first-round pick, and fellow returnee, Dante Fabbro - assuming he's healthy - and man the first power-play unit. Expect a lot of Team Canada's offense to go through Clague.

Tyler Steenbergen

Steenbergen is an example of a player who made it very difficult for Hockey Canada to ignore due to his incredible play this season.

The Swift Current Broncos forward wasn't invited to the summer evaluation camp, but after averaging over two points per game, including 35 goals in 27 games, his production couldn't be overlooked. Dating back to last year, Steenbergen has scored an incredible 86 goals in his last 99 games.

"Everyone talks about his ability to score goals, but what I like most, more than anything is, we challenged him at the beginning of last year to be a 200-foot player and now he's one of our better defensive players, one of our key penalty killers and one of our go-to guys if we have a lead with one minute left and stuff like that," Broncos head coach Manny Viverios said, according to TSN's Mark Masters.

The Arizona Coyotes 2017 fifth-round pick could enter the tournament as Canada's purest goal-scorer, and with the ability to play in all situations, expect to see a lot of Steenbergen.

Boris Katchouk

Similar to Steenbergen, Katchouk will be looked upon to aid the team in the goal-scoring department.

The Tampa Bay Lightning draft pick sits second in goals in the OHL with 27, along with 18 assists in 30 games.

Katchouk should slot in on the second line alongside Robert Thomas and returnee Taylor Raddysh. He'll also feature on the power play, where he showed his effectiveness in a tune-up against Denmark, scoring a goal with the extra skater.

At 6-foot-3, Katchouk stands with Brett Howden as Canada's biggest bodies up front and as such should be expected to be a net-front presence, play on the physical side, and provide offense.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Adam Henrique returned to New Jersey in style.

On Nov. 30, the Devils traded the center (along with a prospect and draft pick) to the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for defenseman Sami Vatanen.

As fate would have it, Henrique made his return Monday, less than three weeks later. He proceeded to score a truly original "goal of the year" candidate at the expense of not just his former club, but the very defenseman for whom he was deemed expendable.

Here's how it happened:

The play began in the defensive zone as Henrique (No. 14) held possession of the puck and turned to skate up the ice. Vatanen (45) was the defenseman directly in his path.

As he skated over the blue line, Henrique flipped the puck into the air while Vatanen was skating backward.

The puck flew over Vatanen's head and landed near the offensive zone blue line. Henrique and the defenseman - who was forced to pull off a quick 180-degree turn - raced to track it down.

Henrique was able to beat Vatanen on the outside and gathered the puck as he entered the faceoff circle.

He positioned himself between Vatanen and goaltender Cory Schneider, although it wasn't yet clear whether he would move the puck to his forehand or stick to his backhand.

After faking a move to his forehand, Henrique decided to stick with the back of his blade and roofed the puck past Schneider.

The full play can be seen here.

The Ducks lost to New Jersey in Henrique's return, but the center also added an assist Monday, bringing his totals as a Duck to four goals and four helpers in nine games.

Whatever he might do over the rest of the season, this play will be hard to top - especially given the team, the occasion, and the opposing player involved.

(Photos courtesy: NHL.com)

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

For the second time in a week, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, thereby sweeping their season series with the reigning Stanley Cup champions.

The first win came Dec. 12 in Pittsburgh, where the Avalanche won 2-1 on the strength of a 39-save performance from Jonathan Bernier. On Monday, Semyon Varlamov was in net, and he stopped 30 of 32 shots in a 4-2 decision, with the Avalanche's goals coming from Tyson Barrie (two), J.T. Compher (the game-winner), and Mikko Rantanen.

Colorado was by far the worst team in the NHL last season, finishing with a 22-56-4 record for a total of 48 points - the fewest earned by any team in the shootout era. The Penguins hoisted their second Cup in a row while the Avs were two months into their offseason.

In 2017-18, however, these two clubs aren't so far apart in the standings. Monday's win improved Colorado's record to 16-15-2 (34 points), and the Penguins dropped to 17-15-3 (37 points).

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

The Columbus Blue Jackets lost 7-2 to the Boston Bruins on Monday, and captain Nick Foligno was not at all happy about his team's effort.

"Just a really, really disappointing game for a team that usually finds a way to answer," Foligno said following the defeat. "That's what I'm most disappointed about. You know, you chalk it up to a loss and get ready for the next one, but we're always a team that prides ourselves on - after a tough loss we come back and we answer right away. And tonight we didn't, and we did it the wrong way the whole game."

Columbus was coming off a 2-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. Monday marks the second time in less than a week that the Blue Jackets lost 7-2, with their previous such defeat coming at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 12.

Foligno pointed to "the lack of emotion and the lack of care" as the source of his disappointment.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

It was fun while it lasted.

The Los Angeles Kings walked into Wells Fargo Center on Monday and laid a beating on the Philadelphia Flyers, thumping them 4-1 to snap the Flyers six-game winning streak.

The loss brought an end to Brian Elliott's personal six-game winning streak and marked the first time he's allowed more than three goals in a game since Nov. 27.

With the win, the Kings snapped their own three-game losing streak and momentarily moved ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights for top spot in the Pacific Division.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Erik Karlsson is sticking to the business of playing hockey,

After shining in Saturday's NHL100 Classic, the Ottawa Senators captain was forced to address remarks made by team owner Eugene Melnyk the night before, wherein relocation was suggested should the arena remain unfilled on a regular basis.

"That's none of our business," Karlsson told reporters after practice on Monday, per TSN. "That's what he (Melnyk) worries about. We worry about playing hockey and that's all we can control.

"We show up here every day and do the best that we can and what we do ... There's nothing I can do about that. Whatever he chooses to say is on him and we just worry about showing up wherever we're told to every day."

Having said that, Karlsson appears to be a fan of building a new rink closer to the city's core.

"I do think it would be better for a rink downtown, just for commuting and you know there's more people down there," he explained. "It would be a cool experience to have a rink in downtown Ottawa since we have a beautiful city.

"I think this is a great market, it's always treated me real well, whether things are going well or if things haven't been going well."

The outdoor win over Montreal improved Ottawa's record to 11-13-7. The Senators sit six points behind Boston for third place in the Atlantic Division.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser's foot injury sustained Sunday against the Calgary Flames isn't a fracture, the team announced.

"It's more of a bone bruise and more day-to-day than week-to-week for his return," general manager Jim Benning said, according to Ben Kuzma of Postmedia. "It's a relief. We can't afford to lose a player like that."

The injury occurred early in the second period when Boeser blocked a shot on the power play, after which the 20-year-old struggled to get to the bench.

The timeline for his absence is unknown, but any significant time would be catastrophic for the Canucks, as Boeser paces the team with 17 goals and 30 points in 31 games.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz apologized to New York Rangers defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk for calling into question his former player's abilities.

Prior to a game between the two clubs on Dec. 7, Trotz said the Capitals acquired Shattenkirk last season with a view to installing him as a top-pair defenseman down the stretch, but he didn't come as advertised and failed expectations.

Trotz, however, later clarified his comments in a personal moment with Shattenkirk.

"He came up to me and apologized after the game," Shattenkirk said Monday, per Larry Brooks of the New York Post. "He explained what he had said and told me that it had been portrayed differently than he intended. I appreciated that."

Washington won that game 4-2, and Shattenkirk added Trotz's comments were weighing on his mind when he took to the ice.

"That game I felt I had a point to prove and then the first shift it’s in the net,” said Shattenkirk, whose turnover led to a goal 14 seconds in. "I felt that I was playing catch-up the rest of the way. But after the game, talking to him and with the explanation he gave me, I put it out of my mind. It hasn’t stuck with me."

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.