After returning to best-on-best Olympic men’s hockey with a victory, Canada gets right back to action on Friday as they face Switzerland in their second preliminary round game at Milano Cortina 2026.
Catch Canada as they take on Switzerland at 3pm ET/Noon PT on TSN1, TSN.ca and the TSN App.
Connor McDavid wasted little time setting the tone for Canada in Thursday’s 5-0 victory over Czechia, when he leveled Lukas Sedlak with a big hit on his first shift of the game.
The physicality from one of the most skilled players in hockey got Canada’s entire bench right into the contest.
“All the boys got pretty fired up,” forward Nick Suzuki said after the game. “Just lined the guy up really well and blew him up. So, really set the tone there.”
Canada’s top line was only getting started as it was McDavid’s linemate Macklin Celebrini who opened the scoring when he tipped a Cale Makar point shot past Lukas Dostal with five seconds left in the opening period.
The 19-year-old looked impressive in his Olympic debut.
“Besides the goal, he played great,” McDavid said about the youngest player on the team. “Just so, so solid along the wall. Made so many great plays. Kept so many pucks alive. Really, really impressive kid. I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Canada continued to benefit from great plays in the second period of their opener as Mitch Marner made a beautiful backhand saucer pass to Mark Stone, who finished the chance to double the advantage.
Bo Horvat scored Canada’s third with a slick move after breaking in between two defencemen.
Nathan MacKinnon and Nick Suzuki also found the net to round out the scoring in the winning cause.
McDavid finished the contest with three assists, while captain Sidney Crosby and defenceman Thomas Harley had two helpers each.
One of the biggest stories heading to the Olympic tournament for Canada was goaltending.
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, who helped lead Canada to gold in the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, got the start in net against Czechia and turned away all 26 shots he faced to pick up the shutout victory.
Binnington, who has struggled to an .864 save percentage in 32 games this season in the NHL, was on his game from the opening puck drop to the final whistle, which came as no surprise to Canada’s head coach Jon Cooper.
“He’s got a lot of pride and he’s got a lot of talent and he’s done it on a lot of different stages so you gotta give the kid his shot,” Cooper told the media. “I feel like he’s deserved this opportunity.”
Cooper confirmed prior to the beginning of the tournament that a different goalie would start Canada’s second game. Logan Thompson will get the call against Switzerland with Darcy Kuemper backing him up as Jordan Binnington gets the game off.
Canada did not escape from their Group A opener unscathed as defenceman Josh Morrissey left the game in the second period after suffering an undisclosed injury.
Travis Sanheim was a healthy scratch and will draw into the lineup for Canada in Morrissey’s place. Seth Jarvis will also make his Olympic debut, with Brad Marchand sitting out.
Switzerland also opened their Olympic tournament with a shutout victory, as they topped France 4-0 on Thursday.
Timo Meier scored twice, while Damien Riat and J.J. Moser also counted for the Swiss.
Leonardo Genoni made 27 saves in the victory, continuing his long history of strong play in net for Switzerland.
The 38-year-old has helped his nation earn second place finishes at the 2018, 2024 and 2025 World Championships.
He earned the MVP award at the 2025 tournament in Sweden and Demark after posting four shutouts.
After Friday, Canada will finish the preliminary round of the tournament with a game against France on Sunday.
