McDavid, Canada crush Czechia in Winter Olympics hockey opener

by · UPI

Feb. 12 (UPI) -- Connor McDavid registered three assists to help Canada shut out Czechia 5-0 on Thursday in an opening match of the 2026 Winter Olympics hockey tournament.

Forwards Macklin Celebrini, Nick Suzuki, Nathan MacKinnon, Mark Stone and Bo Horvat scored for the Canadians at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena.

Canada goaltender Jordan Binnington totaled 26 saves. Czechia's Lukas Dostal stopped 31 of 36 attempts. The Canadians held a 36-26 advantage in shots on goal.

Defenseman Cale Makar and McDavid assisted Celebrini for the first goal with about seconds remaining in the first period.

Forwards Sidney Crosby and Mitch Marner set up Stone for their second goal 6:40 into the second. Forward Brad Marchand and defenseman Thomas Harley found Horvat for a 3-0 lead with 2:34 to go in the bridge frame.

Crosby and McDavid connected with MacKinnon on a power play 7:42 into the third period for Canada's fourth score. McDavid and Harley assisted Suzuki for the last goal with 6:38 remaining.

The Canadians, who won gold in three of the last five editions of the Winter Olympics to feature NHL players, will take on Switzerland in their next Group A match at 3:10 p.m. EST Friday in Milan.

New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier scored twice to lead Switzerland to a 4-0 win over France in another Group A opener Thursday in Milan.

The dozen participating men's Olympic hockey teams, which are split into three groups, each will play three games against their group. The Top 4 teams from those groups will receive a bye to the quarterfinals. The other eight teams will play single-elimination playoff games to qualify for the next round.

The Team USA men were to open the tournament with a Group C match against Latvia later Thursday.

Winter Olympics: Team USA defeats Canada in women's hockey

Team USA celebrates its 5-0 win over Canada in a women's hockey preliminary round game during the 2026 Winter Olympics at the Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy, on February 10, 2026. Photo by Aaron Josefczyk/UPI | License Photo

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