The main favorite for Olympic gold in the men's ice hockey tournament - Canada - recorded a second consecutive decisive victory. The Maple Leafs beat Switzerland 5-1 (2-1, 1-0, 2-0) and lead Group A with a full possession of 6 points and an impressive goal difference of 10-1. The Swiss and the Czech Republic have 3 points each, after the Czechs defeated France 6-3 (2-0, 2-3, 2-0) earlier in the day.
Canada coach John Cooper made a key change, moving Nathan McKinnon to the first offensive line. The move turned out to be decisive - McKinnon finished with a goal and two assists, and the NHL star also recorded the same statistics Connor McDavid for 2024. Captain Sidney Crosby also scored, as did young San Jose Sharks center McLean Celebrini, who scored his second goal of the tournament. Thomas Hartley scored to make it 2-0 midway through the first period after an assist from McDavid.
Switzerland got one back through Pius Suter, who scored on a power play just two minutes after Canada's second goal. Goalie Akira Schmidt made 34 saves but was unable to prevent the opponent's convincing success.
McDavid opened the scoring at 5:45 after receiving an excellent diagonal pass from McKinnon and scored on a power play. At 10:54 Hartley doubled the lead after a pass from McDavid's right. At 12:42 Sven Andrigheto's shot hit the post, the puck bounced back to Suter, and he reduced the deficit to 1:2.
In the second half, Celebrini increased the lead to 3:1 after another assist from McKinnon. A little later, Nico Hischier missed an excellent opportunity to return the intrigue. In the final period, Crosby scored after a pass from Mitch Marner, and at the very end, Celebrini broke through two defenders and passed to McKinnon for the final 5:1.
In the other match in the group, the Czech Republic reacted after the heavy loss with 0:5 to Canada and defeated France with 6:3. Six Czech players finished with two points each on the “goal+assist“ system.
The Czechs started with Daniel Vladarz in goal instead of Lukas Dostal. In the first period, Martin Necas and Michal Kempny secured a 2:0 lead.
However, the second period turned into a test. Louis Boudon scored two quick goals, and Hugo Galle made a complete turnaround for 3:2. The Czech Republic responded through David Pastrnak, who tied the score at 3:3 after an individual breakthrough behind the goal of Martin Neckar.
In the third half, Matej Stransky converted for 4:3, Filip Hlapik increased the lead, and captain Roman Chervenka made the final score 6:3.
After two rounds played, Canada looks convincingly at the top of the group, while the battle for second place remains completely open.