And DCist blanks on telling everyone about the start of 2004 World Cup of Hockey last night. We plead Olympic hangover. But hockey fans have nothing to fear with 13 games remaining to satiate your hockey craving. Actually hockey fans, there may be something to fear with the probable delay of the NHL season, but we will get to that later.

First things first. Tonight the United States takes the ice with Canada at Montreal’s Bell Centre to begin their title-defense quest (ESPN). The teams faced off in the inaugural World Cup final in 1996, with the U.S. wrapping the championship with a 5-2 win. Tuesday also features Sweden’s confrontation with Germany at Globe Arena in Stockholm (ESPN2). Washington Capitals fans can cheer local players who join their home country teams for the competition — Jeff Halpern (pictured here), United States; Rostislav Stana, Slovakia; Danius Zubrus; Russia; and Olaf Kölzig, Germany.

Canada and the U.S. are considered tournament heavyweights, but DCist wouldn’t count out any of the teams vying for the title. Each is stacked with names well known to NHL fans. The World Cup brings together some of the world’s finest hockey players in a competition that allows more days for preparation, unlike the Olympics, and a full roster of players, unlike spring’s World Championship during the NHL post-season. The tournament’s final championship game is Sept. 14 at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre and the winners get to break in the new World Cup championship trophy designed by architect Frank Gehry.

DCist would like to point out that this could very well be the only bit of hockey we see from any Washington Capitals players this season. While the World Cup is run jointly by the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association, these two groups are currently deadlocked in negotiations as the groups’ collective bargaining agreement is set to run out Sept. 15, the day after the World Cup championship game. If no new agreement is signed … well, DCist hopes it won’t be a long, quiet hockey season at a dark MCI Center.

(From DCist contributor Rebecca Walters)

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