WORLDS SEMIFINALS: And then there was one ...

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - The Blue Jackets had 11 players at the 2018 IIHF World Championship this month, but only one has a chance to win a gold medal.
It might not be your first guess, either.
Defenseman Dean Kukan, who helped Switzerland defeat Canada 3-2 on Saturday at Royal Arena, will now go for the gold against Sweden on Sunday in the championship game (2 p.m., NHL Network) - looking to help the Swiss pull off a third straight upset.
Kukan, playing in his fourth world championship, said it will be the biggest game of his career.
"There've been a couple big ones - Calder Cup finals and world junior quarterfinal games - but I would say this is the biggest one," said Kukan, who has a goal, two assists and three points in nine games. "It's huge for us to be in the finals as a smaller country. It wasn't a pretty win tonight, but we'll take it."

Statistically, outside of goalie Leonardo Genoni's 41-save performance, it wasn't even close to pretty for the Swiss.
Canada finished with a 45-17 edge in shots, including 18-1 in the third period, but Switzerland capitalized on its limited scoring chances.
The Swiss took a 1-0 lead late in the first, on a fourth-line goal by Tristan Scherwey that Kukan helped create for a secondary assist. Blue Jackets rookie Pierre-Luc Dubois then assisted on a game-tying goal by Vancouver Canucks forward Bo Horvat in the second that made it 1-1, but the Swiss responded quickly.
Gregory Hofmann put Switzerland back in front, 2-1, on a power play a little more than two minutes later and the Swiss added the eventual game-winner on another power play 4:14 into the third - making it 3-1 when a shot by Colorado Avalanche forward Sven Andrighetto (two assists) deflected into the net off Gaetan Haas.
It was the only shot of the period for Switzerland, which leaned heavily on Genoni's prowess in net and the defense in front of him. That was enough for the Swiss to run out the clock, edging Canada by a goal to punch their ticket into the gold-medal game.
Switzerland also stunned Finland in the quarterfinals, which pitted them against Canada in the semifinals. This is the first time the Swiss will play for the world championship since 2013, when they lost 5-1 against Sweden in Stockholm.
This game will likely have a similar feel in the stands, as the Swedish border is just a 20-minute drive away. Fans of Tres Kronors have already flooded into Copenhagen for the semfinals, but the Swiss are determined not to have a repeat of 2013.
"We lost 5-1 in that game," Kukan said. "I was watching on my couch. We want to be a challenge for Sweden and not lose like that. I think we're ready to take revenge [Sunday]. Our goal was to make the quarterfinals and we did that. Then we wanted to win and play for a medal and we did that too. Might as well make it gold."
Other Blue Jackets players didn't have such a great feeling after the games concluded Saturday.
Cam Atkinson and Sonny Milano had their goal of helping the United States win its first world-championship gold since 1933 end in a 6-0 loss to Sweden, which won comfortably despite being outshot 41-14 - including 16-8 in the first period and 20-4 in the third.
Atkinson, who has seven goals and 11 points in the tournament, played 16:30 and finished with six shots on goal, while Milano logged just 3:26 - all in the third period - as Team USA's 13th forward.
The goal of winning gold also ended for Canadians Pierre-Luc Dubois and Ryan Murray, who will now face Atkinson, Milano and the U.S. for the bronze Sunday (8:30 a.m., NHL Network).
Dubois, who has three goals, four assists and seven points in the tournament, played 12:45 and centered Canada's third line for the second straight game. He finished with the assist on Horvat's goal, while Murray played 10:43 and finished with a minus-1 plus/minus rating.
The U.S. defeated Canada in a shootout in the first game of the tournament for both teams, which were in Group B that played in Herning's Jyske Bank Boxen. Atkinson was credited with the game-winning goal by going 2-for-2 in the shootout on dekes to his forehand and backhand.
After the rematch of North American rivals, the Swiss will take the ice for their shot at preventing Sweden from repeating as world champions. No matter how it turns out, it will be a great way for Kukan to end one of the best seasons of his career.
After making his NHL debut with the Blue Jackets in 2015-16, Kukan didn't play a single game in the NHL the following season and considered going back to Switzerland to play, giving up on his NHL dream. Instead, he gave it another shot with Columbus this season and earned a two-year, one-way NHL contract despite starting out with the Cleveland Monsters of the American Hockey League.
Kukan played 11 games with the Blue Jackets, playing as an injury fill-in, and impressed the Columbus coaching staff with his ability to move the puck and get it up the ice quickly from the defensive zone. He had four assists before sustaining an upper-body injury Feb. 18 against the Pittsburgh Penguins that kept him out of action for all but one more regular-season game.
Competing in the world championships was a chance to finish the season at the same high level he displayed prior to the injury and that's exactly what Kukan did, playing every game as Switzerland's left point on the second defense pairing.
"Dean has made a huge impression and [taken] big steps forward," Swiss coach coach Patrick Fischer said. "He matured a lot in Columbus. [He] had a tough start, was in the AHL and then when he got the chance, he played unbelievably good. He got stronger physically and has more confidence in himself. You can see it out there by how calm he is. He's a great skater and plays good defense and is very smart offensively too."
He'll get a chance prove it once again Sunday.
"He likes to skate, and he had to get used to the more physical play in North America and had to get stronger, but he did that and showed what he could do - and they rewarded him with a one-way contract," Fischer said. "I'm very happy for him. He deserves it."