"They withstood the soaring expectations of a hockey-crazed nation.

They answered the hopes and dreams of a crowd screaming at the top of its lungs in a Canada Hockey Place filled to the rafters with sign-waving, cowbell-ringing citizens of a host country that wanted this as much as they did — as much as three of them anyway.

After performing on arguably the biggest hockey stage of their young careers, the pressure of another deep run in the playoffs, perhaps even playing for the Stanley Cup, should equal, what, a weekend pond hockey game?

The four Blackhawks in Sunday's thrilling gold-medal clash — Canadians Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook and the U.S.'s Patrick Kane, the most dangerous player on the ice — come back to Chicago with more than medals from the instant classic Olympic final won by Canada's Sidney Crosby in overtime.

Beginning Tuesday, the Blackhawks' Olympians jump right back into the NHL season as the Hawks take on the Islanders in the first of 21 remaining regular-season contests. Then it will be on to the postseason where nerves fray and pressure mounts with each game. There are certainly four Hawks — maybe six with Slovakia's run to the bronze game — equipped better than ever to handle it.

"I don't think they get any more intense, when it's a one-shot game and the room for error is next to nothing," said a grinning Keith, his gold medal dangling around his neck. "That experience makes you a lot better player. I definitely feel like going into the playoffs it's going to make all the guys who competed here better players and better suited to play in the playoffs."

Toews had Canada's first goal and Keith assisted on its second when Corey Perry scored to give it a 2-1 lead it held until the final seconds of regulation. Zach Parise tied it up for the Americans with 24.4 seconds to play in the third period. Kane scored his second assist of the game on the goal"