TORONTO -- Even in defeat, there is something dignified, maybe even inspiring, about Team Europe.
For much of Game 1 of this World Cup of Hockey best-of-three finals Tuesday night, there was a sense not of anticipation but of boredom -- not just from the fans at the Air Canada Centre but from host Team Canada as well.
This, after all, is the World Cup of Hockey finals few predicted and even fewer, it appears, wanted.
Everyone in attendance, except maybe those few folks in the upper concourse with Team Europe jerseys, knew in advance not just the outcome of the game but also the manner in which Canada would win. That manner would be in the form of a shellacking.
It has been the backstory since Team Europe defeated favored Sweden in overtime Sunday afternoon in semifinal action.
How could they beat Canada? Simple answer: They couldn't.
How could they avoid being embarrassed? Simple answer: They couldn't.
In spite of all that, it appeared Team Europe was interested in something else entirely, and that single-mindedness gave us a strangely compelling and wholly unexpected 3-1 victory by Canada.
Even after giving up a goal by Brad Marchand on Canada's first shot of the game, Team Europe did something no other team has done in this tournament. They played their game -- not Canada's.
Even when they fell behind 2-0 on Steven Stamkos' first goal of the tournament after a grisly turnover by Team Europe defenseman Zdeno Chara, Team Europe pushed the pace.
They played smart. They were patient. They forechecked with great diligence. For the first time in the tournament, Canada had to rely on goalie Carey Price to keep things under control.
At the end of the second period, it was 2-1 after Tomas Tatar scored his third goal in two games for Team Europe.
It was finally around the midway point of the third period, after a particularly impressive sequence for Team Europe, that the slumbering crowd, seemingly oxygen-deprived for the previous two-and-a-half periods, noticed that the outcome wasn't all that assured and the expected crushing of Team Europe wasn't going to happen according to plan and actually made their presence felt.
Patrice Bergeron scored an insurance marker, and Canada won Game 1, as they were expected to, even if many Canadian players expressed disappointment at their play.
"We didn't play our best -- that's for sure," Canadian defenseman Drew Doughty said. "They played well, though. We kind of had spurts where we really let them outplay us."
Head coach Mike Babcock agreed.
"I thought they were better than us for long stretches of the game," the routinely blunt Canadian said.
Just as I wasn't sure whether this would it be an embarrassing rout, sucking the last of the air out of the event, I likewise weren't sure just how Team Europe would respond to Game 1. What was impressive was it seemed to be equal parts defiance and excitement.
"I think it gives us a lot of optimism," Team Europe defenseman Mark Streit said. "Before the game, we didn't really know how we're going to start, what kind of game it's going to be.
"The mindset is not that you want to have a close game," he added. "The mindset is you want to win the game. You know we don't really care what people think or fans think. We know what we can do. We know what kind of potential we have on our team."
If it seems like the latter half of this tournament has been a total love-in for Team Europe head coach Ralph Krueger, well, get over it. From the opening shift, Europe showed they weren't the least bit afraid of Canada, driving the net and drawing a penalty.
Krueger insisted there are lots of good things that can be taken out of Tuesday's game. But make no mistake: His players are ticked off.
"We're very angry right now, which is a good thing, but we also are confident with what we felt today," Krueger said. "I'm sure we're going to come out fighting very strong in Game 2."
As he pointed out, in a best-of-three series, it doesn't matter what order you win your two games.
Frans Nielsen said no one in the Team Europe locker room feels that they are done.
"Third [goal] was tough. Because we were right there, and we played well," said Nielsen, one of the team's best forwards in the tournament. "But same time, this for sure gives the group a lot of confidence, and I think we have a feeling in there that this is far from over. We know we can go out there and take a game, take the next one and make this a one-game series."
OK, so here's the thing. Canada will likely win Game 2 on Thursday and take home that weird trophy that was trotted out on the ice before Tuesday's game. They should. They're the better team, even if they might have played their poorest game of the tournament Tuesday. Maybe on Thursday they'll win by four or five.
But until that happens, Team Europe deserves more than they've been given here. They deserve our attention and our respect.
At the very least, I'm pretty sure they've gotten that from Team Canada.