HOCKEY : CANADA CUP

Canada shook off an injury to Wayne Gretzky and defeated the United States, 4-1, Saturday night in the opening game of the Canada Cup. Eric Desjardins, Steve Larmer, Mark Messier and Brent Sutter each scored for Canada. Gretzky, who plays for the Kings in the NHL, was hurt midway through the second period while chasing a loose puck in the U.S. zone. He outmaneuvered defenseman Chris Chelios for the puck, but Gary Suter followed up on the play and checked Gretzky hard into the boards in the right corner. Gretzky, stunned momentarily after sprawling face-first into the boards, retreated to the locker room with back spasms. Gretzky, the tournament’s leading scorer with four goals and eight assists, never returned, but it did not matter. He departed after having set up Larmer’s eventual winning goal at 5:20 of the second period. U.S. goalie Mike Richter stopped defenseman Al MacInnis’s hard drive from the blue line, but Gretzky slid the rebound past Richter to Larmer at the side of the net and he redirected it in for a 2-0 Canada lead. Gretzky said he planned to rest overnight and would seek treatment in Toronto if necessary. Canada (4-0-2), which beat Sweden, 4-0, Thursday to earn a berth in the final, can win its fourth Canada Cup in five tries Monday night in Hamilton. If necessary, a third and deciding game will be played Wednesday night in Hamilton.