TORONTO

Four decades after The Goal, Darryl Sittler still has the stick and the gloves that produced one of the magical moments in Canadian hockey history.

But they don’t sit on a mantle. Nor are they nicely displayed in any kind of trophy room.

“I think they’re in a closet somewhere,” a chuckling Sittler told Postmedia Friday. “Doesn’t mean I don’t remember what they helped me do, though.”

No, Canada, Darryl Sittler hasn’t forgotten. And neither has an entire country.

Indeed, this past Thursday marked the 40th anniversary of Sittler’s goal at 11:33 of overtime on Sept. 15, 1976 at the Montreal Forum that gave Canada a 5-4 tournament-clinching victory against Czechoslovakia in the inaugural Canada Cup tournament. Now, all this time later, the Hall of Fame forward has been constantly reminded about his feat again, especially since Canada’s first game in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey will be against the Czech Republic Saturday night at the Air Canada Centre.

Sittler unfortunately won’t be on hand for the game -- “I have two weddings to go to on that day” -- but he knows fans in attendance likely will be reminded of his Canada Cup winner that took place 40 years and two days earlier.

“I’m sure they’ll be showing the goal on the scoreboard,” Sittler said. “I understand it’s been getting plenty of play on television too.”

As Canada and Czech Republic prepare to do battle, Sittler understands that the World Cup of Hockey won’t carve out the same social impact that the 1976 Canada Cup did. But he says that should not take away from the top-end quality of play that will be on display at this upcoming tournament.

“You have to understand that, coming off the 1972 Summit Series, we didn’t know much about the Czech or Russian players in 1976, how they played, what their cultures were like, none of it,” Sittler said. “There was a certain aspect of mystery associated with them, what their society was like, all of it.

“Today, it’s different. Most of these guys in the tournament have played with or against each other at one time or another. There’s not the secrecy of the different cultures involved.

“But that doesn’t change the fact that this is going to be some of the best hockey you’ll ever see. That’s what it should be judged on.”

Sittler, who will be at the Air Canada Centre for Canada’s game against the U.S. Tuesday, was asked about his tactics on the Canada Cup winner where he waited for Vladimir Dzurilla to challenge, faked a shot that froze the Czech goaltender, took two more strides, then fired the puck into an open net.

“Yes, the story is true that (assistant coach) Don Cherry came into our room in the intermission between the third period and overtime and told us we should use (Dzurilla’s) aggressiveness to our advantage,” Sittler said. “Don’s gotten a lot of play out of that. But the truth is, we as players had been talking about that very thing before Don came in.”

Longshot Czechs out to prove doubters wrong

When it comes to having a chip on your shoulder, it certainly sounds like Czech Republic players have ones that are as wide and deep as the Atlantic Ocean.

“I believe it’s to prove people wrong,” Czech assistant coach Vinny Prospal said Friday when asked what the motivating rallying cry will be for his team at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

“I mean, 99% of the players we have, they play in the NHL. They have important roles on their clubs and I believe that they don’t like to be called underdogs, but that’s the way it is. They just want to go out and prove people wrong.”

According to OddsShark, the Czech Republic is a longshot to win the eight-team tournament at +2500. Only Team Europe is ranked lower at eighth at +3300.

While attempting to muzzle all the naysayers, the Czechs have a daunting task ahead of them: kicking off the event against the favoured Canadians at the Air Canada Centre Saturday night. We’ll say this much for them: there is no fear in this bunch, not even toward the mighty hosts.

“I think sometimes it’s not that bad to be the underdog,” forward Michael Frolik said. “I think in our history in Czech we usually have been the underdog. When we won in Nagano (1998 Olympics), nobody really expected that and I think we play a little bit better when we are the underdog.

“It’s good for us. We have nothing to lose, just go out there and play hard, make sure we’re ready and go after them.”

Prospal would not reveal who will start in goal versus Canada but it is believed Michal Neuvirth is the frontrunner to get the call over Petr Mrazek and Ondrej Pavelec.

mzeisberger@postmedia.com

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