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Ryan S. Clark
Two games into the 2026 Olympic men’s hockey tournament, gold-medal favorite Canada has two victories, by a combined final score of 10-1.
Thursday’s 5-0 blanking of Czechia, the Canadians rolled to a 5-1 win over Switzerland on Friday.
Breakout star Macklin Celebrini scored his second goal of the Olympics — and he had a pair of famous linemates who also hit the scoresheet in this one.
Here’s how it all went down for Canada, including the top player of the game, lessons learned, a big question for their final group play game against France, and more.
Takeaway 1: Canada already had a Big Mac; it’s now supersized
We’ve seen this on a nightly basis with Nathan MacKinnon and Connor McDavid. They do something few can manage, and it leads to the constant flow of stories debating which one of them is the best player in the world. Keep in mind that a similar thing has also been said about defenseman Cale Makar.
Welcome Macklin Celebrini to the club.
Having those three on Canada’s roster is part of what plays into why Canada entered the tournament as the favorites to win gold, and nothing we’ve seen so far changes that.
Canada coach Jon Cooper initially had Celebrini and McDavid on the top line with MacKinnon as his second-line center. He put the trio together in the first period, leading to a McDavid goal, before keeping them together, leading to Celebrini scoring his second of the tournament and MacKinnon adding his goal in the third period.
CONNOR MCDAVID. His first career Olympic goal.
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The goals will be the focal point, but what makes this line even more formidable is what it can do defensively. MacKinnon and McDavid have used the Stanley Cup playoffs to reinforce the notion that they can be trusted to be two-way centers in key situations. Celebrini’s reputation as a highly touted prospect was based on his two-way ability. Playing them all together? It’s the sort of greed they talked about in the Bible.
Takeaway 2: Was beating Switzerland a greater accomplishment than being Czechia?
Tournament hockey can be complicated to assess because of the limited sample size. Look no further than Canada’s first two games and how those games could have nothing and everything to do with Canada.
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Opening with a 5-0 win over Czechia was simultaneously expected and surprising given Czechia has 10 NHL players including legitimate top-tier options such as Lukas Dostal, Martin Necas and David Pastrnak. But what raises questions about Canada’s performance was how Czechia performed earlier Friday when it lost a two-goal lead, trailed and then needed three unanswered to beat France in a 6-3 win.
France is the lowest IIHF-ranked team in Canada’s group and the second-lowest ranked team behind Olympic host Italy. Switzerland had opened its pursuit of a medal with a 4-0 win over France that saw stars like Timo Meier score twice, with J.J. Moser also grabbing a goal. The Swiss have finished second in consecutive IIHF men’s world championships, with a roster that also has 10 NHL players such as Kevin Fiala, Roman Josi, Nino Niederreiter.
That’s another reason why the Swiss are expected to mount a serious challenge for a place on the medal podium. Switzerland was within two goals to start the third period, but Canada had the determination in all three zones to increase their buffer and keep the Swiss at arm’s length. Impressive.
Takeaway 3: The depth was also on display
Canada opened the Olympics with five different goal scorers in its win over Czechia. That continued Friday when it once again had five different goal scorers against Switzerland. This time the five players who scored were Thomas Harley, Sidney Crosby, Celebrini, MacKinnon and McDavid.
Receiving that many contributions reinforces what makes Canada one of the two deepest teams in the tournament. Mitch Marner, who scored against Czechia, had an assist, while Tom Wilson also scored against Czechia. Altogether, Canada has a dozen players who have at least a point through the first two games.
Then, there’s this. Travis Sanheim filled in for the injured Josh Morrissey, which allowed Canada to retain much of its defensive continuity, while Logan Thompson got the start in goal after Jordan Binnington played Thursday. Thompson stopped 24 of the 25 shots he faced.
An argument could be made that McDavid belongs in this space. That’s entirely fair, given he also had three points and has continued to look the part of being one of the best players throughout the entire sport.
MacKinnon gets the nod here because of how his addition to that top line with Celebrini and McDavid now adds another dimension to what was an already dangerous team. MacKinnon opened with a goal against Czechia, but moving him to that top unit saw him break through for a three-point outing in another emphatic victory.
Big question: What lineup changes will Canada consider against France?
Canada will have Saturday to recover and determine what combinations it will use when it faces France in this group-play closer.
Opening with 10 goals and two wins is a major contrast to a team that has lost both its opening contests and enhances the idea that Canada will finish undefeated in group play. It’s possible that Canada could look to rest some players, while providing more looks to others like Seth Jarvis, who filled in for Brad Marchand against the Swiss.
Overall team grade: A
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Perhaps this is hyperbolic, but that might have been the strongest game any men’s team has had thus far in the Olympics because of the items that can be taken into consideration.
Switzerland remained within two goals going into the third period. There were times when it could have cut the lead to a single goal before Canada found the goals it needed to create even more separation. The determination to keep the Swiss stars from scoring was notable.
Combine that with what could be a newfound first line, the contributions it received from its entire team, and the fact it was done against a team that could medal? This could be the blueprint Canada uses to make a golden run in the tournament.
