TORONTO -- Most of Team USA's players were on the Ricoh Coliseum ice before the resurfacing machine had even left it.
It was a sign, perhaps, that the Americans are eager to put their miserable start to the World Cup of Hockey -- a 3-0 loss to Team Europe on Saturday night -- behind them.
A fresh sheet of ice presented a fresh opportunity for them to play themselves back into contention with a pivotal game against powerful Canada looming Tuesday night.
Pivotal, in fact, might be an understatement.
"Tuesday is our championship game," head coach John Tortorella said Sunday. "We knew we'd have to go through Canada. That game has just come earlier for us here, and that's the way we're approaching it."
The questions about how this might be achieved are twofold.
First, what technical or personnel issues can be changed or addressed to make the U.S. a better team than the one that staggered through the shutout loss to Team Europe, a game marked by a lack of energy through the first 40 minutes and a series of defensive breakdowns that allowed the opportunistic Europeans to steal a game most believed the Americans would win.
Sunday's practice lines and drills suggest that veteran David Backes, a two-time Olympian for Team USA, will be the extra forward and Kyle Palmieri will draw into the lineup to give the Americans more speed and scoring touch up front.
Palmieri had 30 goals last season for New Jersey. He worked Sunday with the team's top power play unit in practice along with John Carlson, Patrick Kane, Zach Parise and captain Joe Pavelski. Max Pacioretty, struggling to find his way with Team USA, was dropped to a checking line with Brandon Dubinsky and Palmieri.
Kane is trying to shake off a disappointing turn against Team Europe that saw him cough up the puck, leading to an embarrassing 2-on-0 and a 2-0 Team Europe lead. He was working with Justin Abdelkader and Derek Stepan as Tortorella continues to try to find a combination that will unleash Kane's vast scoring potential.
James van Riemsdyk, who started the tournament playing with Kane, dropped down to a line with Pavelski and T.J. Oshie.
"Ideally you'd love to have four lines that you're rolling and you're scoring and are trusted in all situations," Backes said. "But that's just not where we're at at this moment. We've got to deal with reality and not what we'd hoped would be at the moment.
"First things first, we're going to prepare to play the Canadians on Tuesday. We need to win that game," he said.
Dustin Byfuglien was a surprise scratch for Team USA's first game. It would seem like his physical presence and booming shot in the lineup would be an advantage against Canada, although Tortorella declined to answer any questions about the team's lineup. Byfuglien did skate regularly with Jack Johnson and worked out with the team's second power play unit along with Ryan Suter, Stepan, Ryan Kesler and Oshie on Sunday.
"That's not my decision," Byfuglien said. "All I do is come here, put a jersey on and go to work when I'm told. I'm just waiting for an opportunity. That's all."
One NHL executive said that when Byfuglien is on his game he's a tremendous benefit to his team -- but when he's not on his game, he can be a negative influence.
At this stage, it's hard to imagine that he won't be in the lineup Tuesday, especially given that the U.S. was 0-for-4 on the power play.
Tortorella said he hopes his players can finish more plays against Canada. He feels that his offense had several opportunities available on Saturday but couldn't complete them.
"It's about getting to the net," the coach said. "It's about getting to rebounds. It's about being closer to the puck. And that's kind of the next play. When you have a good forecheck, a good first man, I thought we were late with our second guy to establish that type of forechecking when we had it."
Taken in isolation, those elements aren't likely to be enough to secure a victory against a Canadian team that rolled over the Czech Republic 6-0 in its tournament opener Saturday night.
Technical and/or personnel changes have to be accompanied by a mindset from the get-go that the Americans are going to play the way they are supposed to play. They will need to conjure up the kind of emotion they showed when they defeated Canada in a hard-hitting, often nasty pre-tournament game on Sept. 9.
That shouldn't be hard to do, but the same could have been said about Team USA starting the tournament with more energy and purpose, something that was curiously absent.
Normally, in a tournament like this or in a playoff series, a losing team wants to get right back at it, but Tortorella said he thinks the extra off day will be important as the Americans try to digest the depth of the predicament in which they find themselves.
"I think the guys are disappointed," he said. "They are going to tell you they put it behind them. I don't think they have. I'm glad we have the two days. Not so much for the physical and practicing, but the mental. This is either you are afraid of it or it's just a fantastic opportunity we have in front of us Tuesday. I have the belief in our guys they are going to relish this opportunity, and that's the way we have to approach it."
Still, Canadian head coach Mike Babcock said something after his team's emphatic win that resonated when it came to examining the U.S. situation. Babcock said that in these kinds of tournaments -- or sometimes in playoff series -- teams that win early get fat and happy, and conversely, teams that lose often get better in a hurry.
The Americans, seemingly focused and committed to being better than what they were, are hoping Babcock is right.