Canada forward Hayley Wickenheiser believes that she and her teammates will not have it easy against Finland in their Group A clash on Monday.

The North American side started their 2014 Winter Olympics campaign with a comprehensive 5-0 victory over Switzerland on Saturday, while their opponents went down 3-1 to the USA.

"We know we have to be better as we move forward," CBC quotes the 35-year-old as saying. "But these countries are getting harder to play against.

"The difference between the countries is narrowing, but it comes down to fitness and conditioning, and the fact that we are able to train and play together more."

In the other game in the group on Monday, the US will take on the Swiss.