Hockey

While Team Canada has an abundance of fire power at their disposal heading into the Olympic Games, they will have a distinct advantage of being able to ice a ready-made trio of superstars who are prepared to take a bite out of the opposition.

The San Jose Sharks' top line of Dany Heatley, Patrick Marleau and Joe Thornton have feasted on opposing netminders all season long. All three have held their ground near the top of the NHL's scoring race for the entire campaign and they plan to add to their credentials on the World's biggest stage.

"It's going to be a great challenge to us as a line to stay together and have that production and to do that at another level," Marleau told TSN. "It's something that we are looking forward to doing."

Although they have only been together for half a season they have already developed great chemistry. It's something that Joe Thornton believes came naturally.

"It's pretty easy to play when you have two of the most elite goal scorers in the league on your line," admitted Thornton. "For me I just pass them the puck anywhere and they usually put it in the back of the net."

That chemistry and production is what Team Canada's management team envisioned when all three were named to the team back in December.

"Hopefully it's a big advantage," Heatley said. "We'd like to go in there playing well together and we'd like to stay together."

As a team, the Sharks have wilted under the pressure of expectations in past playoff failures, for this fearsome threesome, the Olympics offers an opportunity to exorcise some past demons.

"There's going to be a lot of pressure on everybody and we're looking forward to that challenge," said Heatley. "We're looking forward to playing in front of our home fans in Vancouver. As a hockey player that's all you can ask for."

For Heatley and Thornton who both skated for Canada in their disappointing seventh place finish in the 2006 Olympic Games, the Vancouver Games offers them the opportunity to settle a few scores.

"The Russians kind of spoiled our party in Torino so hopefully we can repay it this time," Thornton said.

These three Sharks are ready for a feeding frenzy in just one week's time.

Files from TSN's Claude Feig were used in this report