Canada will meet Team USA for the gold medal at the World Juniors for the fifth time on Tuesday, with the Americans holding a 3-1 advantage in championship matchups.

Watch the gold medal game LIVE tonight at 8:30PM ET / 5:30PM PT on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4, TSN5 and TSN Direct.

After Canada captured their first battle for gold against the USA in 1997, the neighbours to the south reigned supreme in 2004, 2010 and 2017.

If the Canadians can end the three-game gold medal losing streak against the Americans, they will cap off a dominant title defence at the 2021 tournament.

ZERO

Not only is that the number of games Canada has dropped at the World Juniors this year as they sit at 6-0, it’s also the number of seconds they have trailed – the only team that has yet to be behind at the tournament.

They have led 339:18 out of a possible 360 minutes, scoring in the opening five minutes of five out of the six games they have played.

With victories over Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia and Finland in the preliminary round, and over Czech Republic and Russia in the knockout stage, Canada has a shot at a perfect tournament for the first time since 2015.

The last undefeated champion at the World Juniors was the USA in 2017.

POINTS!

Dylan Cozens was named one of Canada’s three best players at the 2021 World Juniors after the semifinal. His eight goals and eight assists leading up the gold medal game already has him in elite company, with the chance to climb even higher.

Cozens’ 16 points ties him with Cody Hodgson in 2009 for fifth all-time in a single tournament.  The pair trail Wayne Gretzky (1978) and Eric Lindros (1991), who are tied for third with 17, and Canada’s all-time leaders Brayden Schenn (2011) and Dale McCourt (1977), who both tallied 18 at one World Juniors.

The Buffalo Sabres prospect would need to have a great night to pass Lindros’ 31 career points, the all-time best in a Canadian jersey, but with 25 points split between the 2020 and 2021 tournaments, Cozens finds himself tied for fourth with Ryan Ellis.

With a single point, he can equal Jordan Eberle and Brayden Schenn, who are tied for second on Canada’s all-time scoring list.

BETWEEN THE PIPES

The Workhorse from Whitehorse isn’t the only member of Canada’s team that can make a move on an all-time list on Tuesday.

Goaltender Devon Levi, who was also named as one of Canada’s best players of the tournament, has made all six starts and boasts impressive numbers.

Levi’s six victories have him tied with 11 other goaltenders for second most in a single tournament, including fellow Canadians Jimmy Waite (1988), Manny Legace (1993), Justin Pogge (2006) and Carey Price (2007).

The record for a single tournament belongs to Tomas Duba, who won seven games for Czech Republic in 2001.

Levi has also earned three shutouts, which equals Pogge’s single-tournament record from the 2006 World Juniors.

If he can blank the Americans on Tuesday, he’ll set a new mark for one World Juniors and tie Jaroslav Halak for the all-time mark with four.

Heading into the gold medal game, the Florida Panthers draft pick also holds a .975 save percentage, the best mark in the history of a single tournament.  He leads Russian Ilya Bryzgalov, who posted a .971 save percentage in 2000, and Price, who posted a .961 mark in 2007.

NOTES

- Canada beat USA in the 2020 tournament to snap a four-game American winning streak.
- Canada is the last country to repeat as champions at the World Juniors when they won five in a row from 2005-2009.
-Trevor Zegras leads USA in points with six goals and 10 assists.