Team Canada began the 2026 Winter Olympics men's hockey tournament with a dominant 5-0 victory over Czechia at Santagiulia Arena in Milan. Jordan Binnington recorded 26 saves for the shutout, while Connor McDavid contributed three assists. The win was tempered by an injury to defenseman Josh Morrissey, who left the game early.
The Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 marked the return of NHL players to the international stage for the first time since the 2014 Sochi Olympics. In Group A action on February 12, Canada faced Czechia in their preliminary round opener at Santagiulia Arena.
Canada coach Jon Cooper selected Jordan Binnington to start in net, a decision rooted in the goalie's performance at the previous year's 4 Nations Face-Off, where he helped Canada win gold. Binnington validated the choice with a strong showing, making key saves early, including a diving stop on Czechia forward David Kampf with 1:53 left in the first period. "He was awesome," said forward Nathan MacKinnon. "Made some big saves."
The scoring opened late in the first period when Macklin Celebrini, the 19-year-old San Jose Sharks center, tipped in a shot from Cale Makar with 5.7 seconds remaining, becoming the first teenager to score a game-winning goal in an Olympics featuring NHL players. Linemate Tom Wilson praised Celebrini's composure: "You could tell he had that attitude, that swagger where he was going to be a great player for a long time."
In the second period, Mark Stone made it 2-0 at 6:40, tapping in a feed from Mitch Marner after Sidney Crosby won a board battle. Bo Horvat extended the lead to 3-0 at 17:26, finishing a breakaway feed from Brad Marchand forehand-backhand through Lukas Dostal's pads. Czechia goalie Dostal finished with 31 saves but could not prevent the shutout.
The third period saw Nathan MacKinnon score on the power play at 7:42, assisted by McDavid and Crosby, followed by Nick Suzuki's goal at 15:23 for the final margin. Canada outshot Czechia 36-26 and won 55 percent of faceoffs.
A concern arose when defenseman Josh Morrissey exited early in the second period after clipping his leg on Czechia forward Martin Necas. Morrissey played just 7:10 and did not return; Cooper provided no immediate update. Canada, seeking a third straight Olympic gold with NHL players, next faces Switzerland on February 13.
Czechia captain Radko Gudas lauded Dostal: "He shows me every game in Anaheim that he is a world-class goalie." The loss ends Czechia's scoreless streak in Olympics with NHL players, last goal scored in 2014.
