Team Canada dominated Team France with a 10-2 victory on February 15, 2026, in Milan, clinching the top seed in the men's Olympic hockey tournament. The win highlighted Canada's depth and passion, including a historic penalty shot goal by Macklin Celebrini and a third-period fight sparked by a hit on Nathan MacKinnon. France finished the preliminary round winless and heads to the qualification playoff.
In the final preliminary round game of Group A at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Canada faced an outmatched France on Sunday, February 15. Canada, entering with a 2-0 record, built a commanding lead early, scoring three goals in the first period through Tom Wilson, Devon Toews, and a shorthanded tally by Mark Stone. France responded quickly after Wilson's opener with Floran Douay's goal just 13 seconds later, but Toews restored the two-goal margin 39 seconds after that.
The second period saw Canada pull away further. Cale Makar scored on the power play at 12:10, assisted by Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby. Macklin Celebrini then made Olympic history as the first NHL player to score on a penalty shot, awarded after being hooked on a breakaway by Florian Chakiachvili. Celebrini deked goalie Julian Junca with a forehand-backhand move to make it 5-1. Crosby added a goal 19 seconds later, sending Canada into the third up 6-1.
The third period erupted when Pierre Crinon delivered a high elbow to Nathan MacKinnon's chin with 8:38 left, earning a two-minute interference penalty. Less than two minutes later, Tom Wilson challenged Crinon to a fight near the French net, resulting in game misconducts for both and ejections. "It’s the Canadian way, it’s what we do," defenseman Devon Toews said. "We stick up for each other."
Canada added four more goals, including McDavid's record-setting tally 20 seconds in, Bo Horvat's marker assisted by Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett, Brandon Hagel's one-timer from MacKinnon, and Celebrini's second. Sacha Treille scored France's second goal. Jordan Binnington made 12 saves for Canada, while Junca stopped 27 through two periods before Antoine Keller allowed nine on 17 shots.
Fifteen Canadians recorded points, with Celebrini, Crosby, and McDavid each tallying three. McDavid reached nine points in three games, surpassing Jonathan Toews' Olympic record for a Canadian. Crosby hit 15 career Olympic points, another record. France captain Pierre-Edouard Bellemare reflected, "Would I have preferred a closer game? Yes... but in the end, we just played against the best nation in the world."
Canada finished 3-0-0-0 with a +17 goal differential, securing the No. 1 seed and a quarterfinal bye on February 18 against the Czechia-Denmark winner. France (0-0-3-0) likely seeds 11th for Tuesday's qualification playoff versus Germany.
