TORONTO -- Dont blink or you might miss four teams at the World Cup of Hockey.Unlike the Olympics or world championships, pool play at the World Cup is limited to three games for each team. In under a week, half will be eliminated, and that has ratcheted up the urgency for favorites and underdogs alike.Usually in world juniors or world championships -- even Olympics -- you get more than three games to kind of prove yourself, U.S. forward Patrick Kane said Thursday. Three round-robin games, if you dont play well, youre going home.The U.S., Canada, Czech Republic and Team Europe will play to see which two teams move on from Group A, while Team North America, Sweden, Russia and Finland will do the same in Group B. Thanks to the European integration, there are no lightweight opponents for the top countries to warm up against, leading to the possibility that this is the most competitive hockey tournament in history.You shouldnt be taking a night off; its not like an 82-game schedule, U.S. defenseman Matt Niskanen said. But its compounded even more. The tournaments going to be deep. You look at the rosters, theres legit superstars on every team. I dont think you can sleep on anybody.Canada is the clear favorite after going undefeated on the way to gold at the 2014 Sochi Olympics and the past two world championships. But Canadas experienced players are accustomed to a feeling-out process in international competition.Not this time.In the Olympics you never want to stub your toe, but you can have a defeat and learn from it, Canadian general manager Doug Armstrong said. In this event, because youre only playing three games and two teams are moving on, you want to try and make sure that you gain as many points as possible each night and you dont want to wade into anything slowly.The U.S. opens the tournament Saturday against Europe and Canada faces the Czech Republic that night. The Americans and Canadians face off Tuesday in the spotlight game of the preliminary round, and players from those teams know the result of that game could make the difference.Having so much at stake can only make the quality of play better.I think it brings out the best in everyone and that desperation level is probably at the highest it can be, Canadian captain Sidney Crosby said.Making it even more desperate is the fact that goal differential could wind up serving as a tiebreaker.Lets say youre in the middle of game 1 and youre down two -- in a playoff series, its about poise, composure and youve got to work your way back, North American co-GM Peter Chiarelli said. Within a series game to game, you can get off the rails a little bit with your approach and whatnot. Squeeze all that, condense all that into a minute fraction of that and youve got the World Cup.Europe coach Ralph Krueger believes the format could create a breeding ground for upsets.Im really familiar with this kind of pressure right off the hop and the understanding of the dynamics and the dangers of this as the favorite and the opportunities for the perceived underdogs, Krueger said. We look forward to trying to make that work for us.The 23-and-under North American team has speed to burn with captain Connor McDavid and four other No. 1 picks, and teams like Finland, the Czech Republic and Europe could surprise everyone because of goaltending.Really what levels everything out is goaltending in hockey, and every team seems to have a hot goalie and a goalie that can steal a game, Armstrong said.A common theme of media day Thursday was players and coaches explaining that theyre getting better by the day. There isnt much more time to get ramped up. As Canadian forward John Tavares put it, theres no room for error so the next best thing is finding a groove.Play consistent, North American defenseman Seth Jones said. We cant take a game off; there are only three. Its only two to move on. You can do the math there, and really see how hard its going to be to move on.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno Garrett Celek Jersey . 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Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. TWICKENHAM -- Springboks coach Allister Coetzee dismissed any notion that their aura has faded after slumping to their sixth defeat this year at Twickenham on Saturday.South Africa fell 37-21 to Eddie Jones side with England in control for the bulk of the match. South Africa now turn attention to their next match against Italy but are struggling for form and momentum.Not at all, Coetzee said when asked if their aura has faded. I always look at when a team gives up, then Id say the Springboks have lost their aura. But theres no lack of effort in the team.Coetzee said a defining moment in the match was Eben Etzebeths withdrawal after 31st minutes following a clash of heads with Billy Vunipola and went on to praise the performance of England fly-half George Ford.ddddddddddddBut despite a difficult spell, Coetzee says they will continue to focus on the positives.I know we do become our own worst enemy when we make a lot of individual mistakes and when we dont handle the contestables well, Coetzee said. That led to points against us.At a crucial stage before halftime, we couldnt handle a contestable kick and they scored at the other end of the field.Its tough, you got to hang in there. Its never easy, you got to keep working and focusing on the positive things. ' ' '