It all comes down to this.

After splitting the first two games by identical 6-5 overtime victories in opposite directions, Canada and the Soviet Union went to a third and deciding Game 3 at the 1987 Canada Cup final.

It was only fitting that some of the greatest hockey ever played would come to a dramatic conclusion.

You can watch the 1987 Canada Cup Final Game 3 – Canada vs. Soviet Union: today on TSN 5, TSN Direct and TSN.ca at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt.

After Wayne Gretzky recorded five assists to set up Mario Lemieux’s hat trick in Game 2, the crowd in Hamilton, Ont., was already fired up for Game 3.

"The atmosphere in the arena was staggering,’ For a non-NHL city, it was overwhelming how excited the people were," Gretzky told ESPN in an interview in 2012. "It was really, truly, an incredible experience."

The tournament was a coming out party for Lemieux. With Gretzky already coming off six consecutive scoring titles and three Stanley Cups, No. 99 saw himself in Lemieux, only a bigger and faster version.

"One, he saw Mario's talent and he knew he could make a difference on our team," Canada coach Mike Keenan told Ed Willis in his book: Gretzky to Lemieux, The Story of the 1987 Canada Cup. "He wanted to affect Mario's approach to the game as quickly as possible."

It was Gretzky’s welcoming approach that helped the two gather an instant chemistry.

How far would it go? Would Game 3 be the night the torch was officially passed?