Don't look now, but Canada may have just made a comeback.
After making the quarterfinals back-to-back years ago, Canada entered Friday's playoff round with one goal in mind: slaying that dragon.
They did it. And a little more.
However, the game was actually called off in the first period. Back-to-back goals from Cole Resni and Tij Iginla, scored just 44 seconds apart, signaled the beginning of the end for Slovakia, which allowed three more goals to Michael Misa, Sam O'Reilly and Brady Martin before the opening bell sounded. Coming back from a five-goal deficit is hard enough, let alone against a Canadian team that has proven its firepower in this tournament.
Slovakia got a comeback from Jan Czovan's left-handed faceoff late in the second period, but when all was said and done, Canada had scored seven goals for its most dominant playoff performance in three years.
To be fair, Canada finally did what was expected of them at this tournament.
Here are more takeaways from the red and white's 7-1 quarter-final win over Slovakia.
Classic offensive dominance
After Canada ended its goal streak against the Czech Republic with a 2-1 overtime win over Latvia, there were legitimate concerns about whether this team could break Canada's two-year scoring curse.
Really, we just had to trust the process.
With the exception of that game against Latvia, Canada has scored seven or more goals in every performance this tournament, scoring more touchdowns against the Czech Republic, Denmark and Finland, and then repeated that on Friday night.
From the first drop of the puck, Canada was flying and constantly attacking. They held Slovakia to zero shots until the midway point of the first and spent a full 9:30 in the offensive zone before the first frame, while Slovakia had 5:46.
Canada has scored 32 goals at these world junior tournaments so far – more than double the number at the last tournament – while giving up just 12 goals.
“We play together, we work with the puck,” head coach Dale Hunter said after the game. “As a coach, we always want to throw a little more and not look for the perfect game, but the guys up front play together as linemates and it works well.”
The Canadians had 43 shots against Slovakian goaltender Alan Lendak on Friday night, with three of the seven goals coming on rebounds, proving that good things happen when the puck hits the net.
The semi-finals will be their biggest test, but if Canada can keep this momentum going into Sunday, they won't be easy to beat.
It wasn't just that Canada dominated, it was how they did it.
Fifteen skaters registered a point on Friday night, including 14 in the first period alone, and five scored multiple points in the evening. It's not just the top athletes who score points (although they do that too), but Canada also saw contributions from both up and down the roster.
That included a pair of assists from draft-eligible Keaton Verhoeff, who left his mark on Friday's game despite starting the tournament with a healthy win. He's not scoring at the same rate as Gavin McKenna as a forward playing in his second tournament, but the projected top-five prospect did record a point per game in his first World Junior Championship (three assists in three games).
Defenseman Zane Parekh is also making Canadian history by becoming just seventh Canadian blue player score 10 or more points at the World Junior Championships. He will lead all Canadian defensemen with just two points, which seems inevitable considering he is the tournament's top scorer with four goals and six assists in five games.
In fact, after Friday's rout, Canada has the tournament's four leading scorers, with Parekh and McKenna leading the way, with Porter Marton and Cole Beaudoin sitting close at 11 and 12 points, respectively.
“We said throughout the tournament that if we were going to win the gold medal, we were going to have to do it by committee,” Martone, Canada's captain, said after the game. “All four lines have to contribute and that's what happened here tonight. “We’re not a one-trick pony, everyone contributes and that’s very important on Sunday.”
Special teams continue to perform
Perhaps one of their biggest improvements this year, besides the aforementioned scoring, is their play on special teams.
While Canada managed just one power play goal in three attempts on Friday night, their man advantage stats in this tournament were frankly absurd: 8 of 17 and 47.06 percent – although it was around 50 percent before Friday.
Likewise, Canada allowed just one power play goal in 12 attempts, finishing second in the tournament with a percentage of 91.67%, but now first among teams still eligible to participate. Only Switzerland had a better penalty success rate of 93.75%.
Granted, Canada was more disciplined in this tournament and lost 25-44 in five games, but their penalties worked when they needed to, including on Friday.
Parekh received a double minor penalty for high sticking late in the third period, and while the game was functionally over by that point, Canada still weren't looking to make this result any closer than it needed to be.
So the red and white penalty takers went to work, dutifully erasing all four minutes of Slovakia's man advantage without taking any risks that could potentially damage availability ahead of the semi-finals.
Goaltender Jack Ivankovic, who was ahead of Carter George despite playing just one game in this tournament, was significantly less busy than Lendak but still played well, stopping every shorthanded shot he faced and finishing with 21 saves on 22 shots.
Canada-US rivalry suspended
The USA's two-year reign over the world juniors came to an end, and they were eliminated without ever playing their overseas opponent.
Just minutes before the puck dropped in the Canada-Slovakia quarterfinals, Finland defeated the Americans 4-3 in overtime, capping a thrilling contest that saw the host nation eliminated from the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
While this makes Canada's path to gold a little easier, it also marks the second time in three years that the Maple Leaf did not face the Red, White and Blue at the World Junior Championships.
Because Canada and the United States compete in different groups, they have faced each other just three times in the last five tournaments, with the Americans leading 2-1 during that time.
The rivalry will have to wait another year.
Canada will face a familiar opponent in the semi-finals
Although they opened their 2026 tournament with a win, Canada hasn't beaten the Czech Republic in the playoffs since 2023 in Halifax.
Now they have the opportunity to get real revenge when the stakes are high – with a chance to compete for gold on the line.
Canada knows all too well that the Czech Republic is not to be taken lightly. Even their round-robin game on Boxing Day was a loose, repetitive game that Canada probably won't want to repeat with a chance at a gold medal on the line.
Canada has improved as the tournament has gone on, while the Czech Republic has three top scorers and is looking to firmly cement its place among junior hockey players.
Everything happens on Sunday evening.
