The Canadians are set to defend their dominant reputation in men's ice hockey, as Sidney Crosby and company take on Norway in the preliminary round on Thursday at 12:00 p.m. EST at Bolshoy Ice Dome in Sochi, Russia.

The pressure is on the Canada's men's hockey team to deliver another golden performance amidst the threat of the host nation Russia, traditional powerhouse Sweden and archrival United States.

But before they take on the big guns, the Canadians are given the luxury of a sort of warm-up game against the unheralded Norwegian squad, which is not expected to contend for a place on the podium.

Canada is the defending champion and hands-down favorite in the Winter Olympics, racking up eight gold medals since the introduction of the sport. Still, strange things can happen, as Bleacher Report writer Jesse Reed recently noted. It's not impossible for Norway to pull off one of the biggest upsets in Olympic ice hockey history, especially if they face a complacent Canadian team in the game, Reed wrote. 

"While Canada is favored to win-by a long shot-all it takes is one magical performance by Norway to engineer a monumental upset. Underdogs have put top dogs down in the Olympics before, and this dynamic is one of the reasons so many appreciate sports in the first place," Bleacher Report stated.

Norway has only one NHL player on its roster, but doesn't lack the toughness to go toe-to-toe with the Canadians from start to finish.

"They're an aggressive team, they play real well and real hard. They're going to give us a handful. They're used to this ice, we're not. We'll get adjusted over time. But we have to grow our game, and it's not about them, it's about us. I'd be saying that no matter who we play," CTVNews.ca reported.

Live Stream, TV Schedule and Updates

Canada vs. Norway will start at 12:00 p.m. EST at Bolshoy Ice Dome, Sochi, Russia. The game can be watched on NBC or via Live Stream on NBC Olympics Live Extra. Scores, statistics and play-by-play will be available on ESPN Winter Games.