USA faces 'very special' Canada Sunday at world juniors

• Lipon and Jenner will miss game with suspensions
• Nugent-Hopkins, Strome, Huberdeau, Rielly lead Canada
• Pietila, Bardreau and Hartman make up gritty checking line for USA

The coaching message for the Americans at the World Junior Championships would be that Friday's loss to Russia doesn't necessarily mean that their party plans are ruined for this holiday event in Ufa, Russia.

If the Americans could defeat Canada Sunday (4:30 a.m., NHL Network) in regulation, they could still end up as the No. 1 seed in their bracket if Canada then beats Russia and the USA takes care of business against Slovakia. if that scenario played out, Canada and USA would have nine points each, but the Americans would have the tie-breaker based on head-to-head competition. The problem with that scenario is that the Canadians have a highly skilled team and a long history of success in this tournament.

"I think Canada will attempt to establish a forecheck and put us on our heels and we will have to be prepared for that," U.S. coach Phil Housley said. "They are a very special team, and their power play is tops in the tournament. We have to stay out of the box."

The Canadians will be playing without forwards J.C. Lipon (undrafted) and Boone Jenner (Columbus Blue Jackets) who have been suspended by International Ice Hockey Federation for illegal hits. Lipon received a one-game suspension for a check to the head of Slovakia's Tomas Mikus on Friday, and Jenner is finishing off a three-game suspension for an over-the-line hit in a pre-tournament game that knocked Swedish defenseman Jesper Pettersson out of the WJC.

Those two players are important, particularly as penalty-killers, but the Canadians are a deep team, led up front by Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has two goals and five assists in two tournament games, and New York Islanders first-rounder Ryan Strome, who has three goals and five points. Florida Panthers first-rounder Jonathan Huberdeau has a goal and four points.

The defense is led by Morgan Rielly, who might have made the Toronto Maple Leafs roster if the season had started on time. He has a goal and four points.

"I think what we need to do is just play like we did against Russia," Housley said. "We defended well, and we had some great transition. One area we have to play particular attention to is making good decisions at the blue line, and not force anything that feeds into their transition game."

The Americans have established a gritty checking line in Blake Pietila (New Jersey Devils), Cole Bardreau (undrafted) and Ryan Hartman (projected first-rounder in 2013). Pietila plays at Michigan Tech, while Bardreau plays at Cornell and Hartman is with the Plymouth (Mich.) Whalers of the Ontario Hockey League.

"They are our so-called Grind Line," Housley said. "They do a great job of getting to loose pucks. They create a lot of energy for our team. I like the way they compete."

On the basis of their one common opponent, it seems like this will be a highly competitive game. The Canadians opened with a 9-3 win against Germany, and the Americans beat the Germans 8-0.

"We just have to be consistent and have an even kilter during the game," said U.S. alternate captain J.T. Miller (New York Rangers). "We have to stay disciplined because you don't want to give guys like Huberdeau, Nugent-Hopkins, Strome, (Winnipeg Jets prospect Mark) Scheifele scoring chances. ... They are obviously dangerous with the man-advantage."