Canada blanks Czechia to open Olympics with convincing win
The Canadian men's hockey team began its Olympics slate with a 5-0 win over Czechia on Thursday.
Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring for Canada late in the first period, while Connor McDavid racked up three assists and set the tone for the dominant performance with an uncharacteristically big hit during his first shift.
"Our team wants to play hard, and everybody wants to play hard at this tournament," McDavid said postgame, per Sportsnet's Luke Fox. "You want to be a hard, forechecking team. And it doesn't need to be just Willy (Tom Wilson) or Benny (Sam Bennett) or Marchy (Brad Marchand). It can be everybody."
Jordan Binnington was steady in goal, stopping all 26 shots he faced.
Binnington entered the Olympics under the microscope as a perceived weak spot after posting the worst stats of the three Canadian netminders selected to the roster. He earned the starting role in Italy after a strong effort during Canada's 4 Nations Face-Off triumph last year.
On Wednesday, Canada head coach Jon Cooper said his team's goaltending dilemma is "not a story."
While Binnington stood tall between the pipes, the Canadians' offensive depth shined in the victory. The tournament favorites had five different goal-scorers and flexed their muscles on Nathan MacKinnon's third-period power-play goal, which was assisted by McDavid and Sidney Crosby.
"Two of the best players ever to play passing it to me is cool," MacKinnon said, according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. "I didn't have to do much for that one. Just blessed to be on the backside. Anyone could have put that one in."
Canada has now won 11 consecutive Olympic games featuring NHL players, with its most recent loss coming in the preliminary round of the 2010 Games.
The one blemish on its dream start to the Milan Cortina tournament was an injury to defenseman Josh Morrissey. The specifics of the ailment aren't yet clear, but he only played one shift after the first period.
Canada returns to action Friday against Switzerland, while Czechia will take on France.