Team Canada’s men’s national team, NHL players included, have returned to the Olympics for the first time since 2014, and boy was it sweet to have them back.

In Canada’s first game of the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympic Winter Games, they crushed Team Czechia 5-0, appropriate revenge for the way Czechia’s junior teams have handled Canada’s in the past couple of World Junior tournaments. They outshot Czechia 36-26, with St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington stopping all 26 shots on goal for the shutout win in the tournament-opener.

Canada kicked off the scoring with five seconds left in the first period, with young San Jose Sharks phenom Macklin Celebrini deflecting a point shot from Colorado Avalanche defenceman Cale Makar to open the game. It was a moment to remember for the 19-year-old Celebrini, who was skating on a line with Connor McDavid and Tom Wilson to kick things off. Canada continued to press in the second period, with Vegas Golden Knights teammates Mitch Marner and Mark Stone connecting on a goal thanks to a nifty backhand saucer pass from Marner for an easy tap-in for Stone. New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat scored a breakaway goal near the end of the second frame to extend the lead to 3-0.

In the third period, Canada put the finishing touches on the game and never gave Czechia a chance to get back into it. McDavid picked up his second and third assists of the game, first on a power play where he sent it across the crease for a back-door tap-in from Nathan MacKinnon. Then, he found Montreal Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki at even strength for the 5-0 goal. It’s no secret that a Canada team that boasts McDavid, MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby down the middle is going to be a tough customer, but it was somewhat surprising to see a Czechia team featuring the likes of David Pastrnak, Martin Necas, and Tomas Hertl, fail to find the back of the net.

Canada will be back in action on Friday as they look to keep their momentum up against Team Switzerland. From a Toronto Maple Leafs standpoint, Auston Matthews and Team USA will take on Team Latvia on Thursday afternoon, with William Nylander, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Team Sweden back in action early Friday morning against their Scandanavian rivals in Team Finland.

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