Canadian men's qualifying round rematch against China opportunity to 'improve as a team'

In theory, Team Canada wanted to avoid a detour through the qualifying round in men's hockey at the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

After all, anything can happen, even against an inferior opponent — especially if a goalie turns in the game of a lifetime. Canada knows this first-hand, after eking out a 2-1 quarter-final victory over Latvia at the 2014 Sochi Games when Latvia netminder Kristers Gudļevskis repelled an unbelievable 55-of-57 shots.

Injuries to key contributors are always possible. So are player suspensions, which could result in a big name watching the knockout round from the press box.

But for the Canadian men's team in Beijing, Tuesday's qualifying match against China might actually be a good thing.

More game action for head coach Claude Julien to tinker with the lines feels necessary — as does more time for the players to develop chemistry — after an underwhelming showing in the round robin.

WATCH | Highlights from Canada's win vs. China:

"At the end of the day, whatever happens, you've got to look at it in a positive way," head coach Claude Julien said Sunday after Canada blanked China 5-0 to finish second in Group A.  "Playing in a qualification round gives us the opportunity to play another game and to improve as a team.".

Improvement is certainly needed for this version of Team Canada — minus NHL players —  to contend for a medal.

And the last time Canada competed in the qualifying round resulted in gold with Eric Staal, Sidney Crosby, and Roberto Luongo beating Germany on the road to the Olympic final against the United States.

"You've got to remember that we had no pre-tournament games," Julien said. "This is basically our third game and the more you play the better you get as a team, so hopefully this plays to our advantage."

The energy line of Ben Street, Eric O'Dell and Kent Johnson — a third line in name only — is Canada's best through three games (the trio has combined for 4 goals and 11 points).

"In the last game, we got some chemistry going with our line," O'Dell said. "And today, we started off really strong and got a few goals.

"Hopefully we can continue to play well for our team."

WATCH | Full replay of Canada vs. China: