2010 Olympic Men's Hockey: The Top Five Players of the Final Four

And just like that, eight national teams have been sent packing to their respective homelands.

If anyone tells you that they would have guessed that Slovakia, USA, Canada, and Finland would constitute the final four teams heading into the medal round of the 2010 Winter Olympics, slap them, because that's just what you do to liars.

Though Canada was destined for a top four finish (just ask them, they'll tell you), the other three teams' presence in the medal round is a bit of a surprise.

Slovakia has impressed with not one, but two huge upset (Russia and Sweden) victories.

Team USA is the improbable number one seed going into the medal round and is the only undefeated team in the final four.

And, Finland has used not only sticks and skates, but smoke and mirrors to make their return to the medal round, the only 2006 finalists to do so.

With just three medals available to four teams, each squad is going to need a big performance from each player in order to earn a podium spot.

However, there are five players that have proved to be essential to their team's success.

Call them game-breakers, call them clutch-performers, you can certainly call them MVP candidates—these five players represent the cream of the crop heading into Friday's medal round.

F Jonathan Towes - Canada

Amidst the likes of veterans Scott Neidermayer, Chris Pronger, Joe Thornton, and Patrick Marleau, one would have thought that the leadership and performance of 21-year-old Jonathan Toews would hardly be the engine driving Canada's success.

Nevertheless, the Blackhawks superstar has emerged as Canada's best player.

Toews is tied with teammate Dany Heatley for the lead in tournament scoring with seven points, all assists, and leads the Olympics in plus/minus.

A defensively superb center that makes those around him better?

That's typically a job fulfilled by a matured, veteran, thirty-something player, not a young forward who has yet to reach his prime.

If the NHL does participate in the 2014 Olympics, I think Team Canada has already found its captain.

D Brian Rafalski - USA

In a tournament filled with surprises, few are bigger than the emergence of Team USA defenseman Brian Rafalski.

Rafalski, 36, is the team's oldest player and was selected to provide veteran leadership and perhaps a secondary offensive threat to the US's power-play.

Through four games, Rafalski leads his young team in scoring with six points, is second in tournament goal scoring with four, and is still managing to see to his defensive duties, sporting a plus-five rating.

The Detroit Red Wings blue-liner has been at the heart of Team USA's success and shows no signs of stopping his brilliant play in the medal round.

Now, if he can just bring some of that magic back with him to Detroit, the Red Wings will be in business.

F Marian Hossa - Slovakia

With a three-assist performance on Wednesday night which lead the upset of 2006 gold medal winners Team Sweden, Marian Hossa has effectively put his team on his back and is making his way towards the gold medal round.

The Chicago Blackhawks forward is tied for first in Olympic scoring with seven points (5G, 2A) and has been the key to Slovakia's rise to their highest Olympic finish in their history.

Teammates Pavol Demitra and Marian Gaborik are no pushovers either. However, Hossa has that little extra something that will push him squarely into the tournament MVP talk.

G Ryan Miller - USA

A 4-0 record, .944 save percentage, and a 1.25 GAA makes Ryan Miller the best goalie left standing among the final four finishers.

His 41 save performance in Team USA's improbable 5-3 win over Canada is sure to go down as one of the best ever by a US goalie and his 19 save performance against the Swiss, though not nearly as impressive, marked the first US shutout in the Olympics since Mike Richter blanked Germany 5-0 in 2002.

Not a bad showing for the Buffalo Saber's first Olympic appearance.

As the US is set to take on Finland in the semifinals on Friday, the Americans are guaranteed two shots at earning a medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics.

But, if Miller continues his recent play, a gold medal may in be the hands of the US on Sunday for the first time since 1980.

G Miikka Kiprusoff - Finland

As they did four years ago in Torino, the Finns are leaving a lot of observers scratching their heads.

Team Finland is once again on an improbable Olympic run and they largely have Miikka Kiprusoff to thank for it.

Despite having a 39-years-young Teemu Selanne and outstanding young forwards such as Miko Koivu and Valtteri Fippula, Finland's scoring potential has been predictably limited.

However, the Calgary Flames goalie has shown that he's quite comfortable winning games for his NHL team all by himself and he's doing the same for his national team.

Despite their muted offensive play against Sweden and the Czech Republic, Team Finland is capable of putting together a daunting offensive attack.

If they manage to do this against Team USA on Friday, they may be party to one of the biggest upsets of the tournament as Miikka Kiprusoff looks to have at least one more shutout in him going into the medal round.