Team Canada is off and running as it looks to defend back-to-back gold medals secured the last two times NHL players participated in the Winter Olympics — in 2014 in Sochi and 2010 in Vancouver.
The best-on-best title defense is off to a good start, as Canada crushed Czechia 5-0 in a Group A preliminary game at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Thursday. Front and center was the devastating powerplay — featuring Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Sam Reinhart and Cale Makar — which scored once and looked dangerous nearly every second it was in action.
“In my opinion, it’s the best defenseman ever and two of the five best players ever on the other sides,” MacKinnon told reporters shortly after the win, referring to Makar, McDavid and Crosby.
“Happy to be out there.”
MacKinnon — who isn't too shabby himself — scored Canada's powerplay tally on a beautiful cross-ice pass from McDavid, which made the score 4-0 nearly midway through the third period.
Macklin Celebrini, Mark Stone, Bo Horvat and Nick Suzuki also scored for Canada, who rolled out four star studded lines to kept Czechia on its toes. The Czechs played well, directing 26 shots on Jordan Binnington, who was perfect in between the pipes.
“In the end, you have to perform,” head coach Jon Cooper said of his starting goalie — a decision that was widely criticized on social media.
“This isn’t a loyalty thing, but I have the utmost confidence in that kid. He’s proven it. Even when he’s had little stumbles, when pushes come to shove, the kid’s been there for us. He’s got a lot of pride, he’s got a lot of talent, and he’s done it on a lot of different stages. So you got to give the kid a shot.”
Gold medal or bust for Team Canada in 2026
It was an encouraging start, but it was just that: a start. There's still a long way to go for Canada to reach its perennial Olympic goal.
“We’re here to win a gold medal,” said McDavid, who finished with three assists in the convincing victory, per The Athletic. “Today was the start to that path.”
No. 97 continued: “Our team wants to play hard. Everybody wants to play hard in this tournament. You want to be a hard forechecking team, and it doesn’t only need to be just [Tom Wilson] or [Sam Bennett].”
It wasn't all positive for Team Canada, as key defenseman Josh Morrissey left the contest early. It wasn't exactly clear what happened to the Winnipeg Jets star, but he did collide with Czechia and Colorado Avalanche forward Martin Necas in the first period. He only played one shift in the second before departing for good.
It'll be a next-man-up mentality for Canada if Morrissey is forced to miss any time, as additional players cannot be added to the roster once the tournament has started. Morrissey also missed the 4 Nations Face-Off final due to an illness.
Still, it was a mostly perfect start for the Canadians, who won't have long to wait before their next game. They're back in action against Roman Josi and Switzerland on Friday; puck is set to drop just past 3:10 p.m. ET from Milan.
