Canada’s men’s hockey team defeats France at the 2026 Winter Olympics

MILAN — Team Canada Dominates Men’s Hockey Tournament

Well, it seems like the reigning champions haven’t faced any real challenges yet in the Olympics. At least not so far. Throughout the qualifying round, Team Canada has made a clear statement, establishing itself as a formidable force in the men’s hockey competition here in Milan.

Over the course of three games, the Canadians have outscored their opponents 20-3, capping it off with a remarkable 10-2 victory against France on Sunday afternoon. Impressively, twelve players contributed to the scoring in this round, including nine who found the net on Sunday alone. Canada hasn’t had any trouble scoring.

Despite some struggles with lineup combinations featuring stars like Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Sidney Crosby, coach John Cooper managed to pair MacKinnon with McDavid and rookie Macklin Celebrini in a crucial second game, leading to a 5-1 win against Switzerland. It was like having a powerful secret weapon. However, he opted not to employ it against France, who were expectedly outmatched on Sunday.

The most suspenseful moment Sunday came when Florent Douai equalized just 13 seconds after Canada’s Tom Wilson opened the scoring. That brief tension lasted only until Devon Toews quickly put Canada back in the lead. And honestly, that was pretty much it for excitement.

The highlight might have been in the third period when Wilson dropped the gloves with French player Pierre Crinnon. Both were ejected due to IIHF rules concerning fights. Crinnon had previously elbowed MacKinnon, which added to the atmosphere.

With such a dominating performance, Canada has likely secured the No. 1 seed for the finals. While the U.S. technically has a slim chance to catch up, they’d need to gain a hefty 10 points in their match against Germany. The second seeds will likely face Sweden, which is expected to be a tough matchup in the quarter-finals after their recent loss to Finland.

Everything is going pretty much as expected for this incredibly talented Team Canada. McDavid leads the tournament in points, astonishingly averaging a point per period. Crosby, with three points on Sunday, has now become Canada’s all-time leading scorer in the Olympic era. Celebrini, making history as the first NHL player to take a penalty shot at the Olympics at just 19, is also shining. Notably, every player on the roster seems to be performing exceptionally well.

However, there are slight concerns, such as Josh Morrissey’s injury from Canada’s opening game (though Cooper mentioned he hopes to see him back before the Olympics wrap up) and Jordan Binnington allowing a couple of goals against France.