Macklin Celebrini opened the scoring, and Jordan Binnington made 26 saves for the shutout as Canada’s NHL stars opened their quest for gold at the Milan Cortina Olympics with a 5-0 victory over Czechia on Thursday.
Mark Stone, Bo Horvat, Nathan MacKinnon and Nick Suzuki had the other goals for the Canadians. Connor McDavid had three assists, while Sidney Crosby and Thomas Harley had two assists each.
Lukas Dostal stopped 31 shots for the overmatched Czechs.
The NHL is back at the Olympics after a 12-year absence from the international spotlight. The league declined to attend the 2018 event in Pyeongchang, South Korea, before COVID-19 scuttled plans for a return in Beijing four years ago.
Macklin Celebrini scores Canada’s 1st Olympic goal with NHL’ers in nearly 12 years
Canada, with a roster of 19 returnees from its victory at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, played its first game at an Olympics with NHLers in 4,373 days.
Switzerland topped France 4-0 in the early Group A game. The Canadians meet the Swiss on Friday, while the Czechs and French will tangle in the other matchup.
Canada was greeted by whistles and boos from the boisterous, colourful, Czech-heavy crowd at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena ahead of Thursday’s much-anticipated puck drop.
The Canadians came out flying in the opening moments, including a big hit from McDavid on Lukas Sedlak.
Canada’s lightning-quick power play failed to connect despite some decent looks before MacKinnon’s shot that flew in past Dostal’s glove was negated by a Suzuki tripping penalty.
Binnington — a hero at 4 Nations some 12 months ago — got the start despite some iffy numbers in the NHL this season. David Kampf had a great chance to put the Czechs in front later in the period, but the netminder made a desperation save while lying on the ice and the net staring his opponent in the face.
Jordan Binnington refuses to be pushed around in shutout win over Czechia
Celebrini, the youngest player in the tournament and the youngest Canadian to play at an Olympics involving the NHL, opened the scoring in the waning moments of the first period when he tipped Cale Makar’s hopeful point shot past Dostal with 5.7 seconds remaining on the clock.
The No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft was not yet eight years old the last time an NHL player representing Canada scored at the Olympics.
The Canadians, wearing their white jerseys with a red Maple Leaf, got a nice stop from Binnington on David Pastrnak early in the second before doubling their lead.
Mitch Marner picked up the puck along the boards and delivered a beautiful saucer pass over a sprawling Czech player for Stone to tap home at 6:40.
WHAT A PLAY by Mitch Marner 🤯<br><br>And Mark Stone makes it 2-0 for Canada over Czechia 🚨<br><br>WATCH: <a href=”https://t.co/1Kd6vfx7oV”>https://t.co/1Kd6vfx7oV</a> <a href=”https://t.co/VTFyx7EfHa”>pic.twitter.com/VTFyx7EfHa</a>
McDavid then moved in on a 2-on-1 with Brandon Hagel, but was denied twice by Dostal on the doorstep, including on the rebound.
The Canadians kept coming and made it 3-0 at 17:26 when Horvat split a sloppy Czech defence and slid a puck between the pads.
BO HORVAT 🤯<br><br>3-0 Canada in the second period vs. Czechia 🇨🇦<br><br>WATCH: <a href=”https://t.co/1Kd6vfx7oV”>https://t.co/1Kd6vfx7oV</a> <a href=”https://t.co/mvUvC3rdgZ”>pic.twitter.com/mvUvC3rdgZ</a>
It wasn’t all good news for the team in white, however, as defenceman Josh Morrisey left the game early in the period and didn’t return. International rules allow teams to dress 13 forwards and seven blueliners. Shea Theodore slotted in alongside Colyton Parayko in Morrissey’s spot. Travis Sanheim is the only other defender on the roster.
The Czech fans stayed in full voice throughout much of the game at the packed 11,600-seat venue, but were silenced midway through the third when MacKinnon scored on a power play off a setup from McDavid and Crosby at 7:42.
McDavid ➡️ MacKinnon 🚨 <br><br>And it’s 4-0 Canada vs. Czechia 🇨🇦<br><br>WATCH: <a href=”https://t.co/1Kd6vfx7oV”>https://t.co/1Kd6vfx7oV</a> <a href=”https://t.co/0TkwV1fMBx”>pic.twitter.com/0TkwV1fMBx</a>
Suzuki made it 5-0 on another McDavid feed at 13:22 to cap a result that was never really in doubt.
NICK SUZUKI JUST SCORED AT THE OLYMPICS 🇨🇦🚨 <a href=”https://t.co/mtrIlbltaZ”>pic.twitter.com/mtrIlbltaZ</a>
Canada won best-on-best gold with its men’s stars at the 2002, 2010 and 2014 Games, with Crosby and defenceman Drew Doughty back from the latter two looking for a third finish atop a Games podium.
Canada’s last Olympic meeting with Czechia came six years ago in South Korea — minus NHLers — when the country secured a 6-4 victory and a bronze medal.
Canada fell to the Czechs in an infamous semifinal at the 1998 Nagano Olympics, when Wayne Gretzky was left out of the shootout. The Czechs went on to win gold.
