‘Keep getting better’: Canada’s NHLers impressing through two games at Olympics

MILAN – Canada boarded a plane for Italy last weekend with lots of firepower — and a few questions.

The NHL’s return to Olympic competition following a 12-year absence meant offensive dynamos Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon would finally get a chance to show their wares on the world stage.

There was excitement around the inclusion of Macklin Celebrini up front, too.

The areas of concern — at least on the outside — lay elsewhere. A perceived weak link, how would the goaltending hold up? And what about a defence corps that included the same eight blueliners from the 4 Nations Face-Off? The group was solid, but plenty of worthy talent was also left at home.

Through two outings at the Milan Cortina Winter Games, the star-studded and focused Canadians have silenced any negative chatter.

The hockey power opened its men’s tournament Thursday with a 5-0 victory over Czechia before handling Switzerland 5-1 some 30 hours later with similar efficiency.

The team is also far from satisfied despite having already clinched first place in Group A and a spot in the quarterfinals with one game remaining in the preliminary round.

“The job is to keep getting better,” Canadian head coach John Cooper said Friday night. “To come in here and play the back-to-back, we passed that test. 

“You think about the travel, the practices, the games … it adds up. It’s tiring, not only on the body, but on the mind.”

The much-maligned Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues produced a 26-save shutout in the opener before Logan Thompson — one of the best statistical NHL netminders over the past two seasons with the Washington Capitals — made 24 stops the following night.

The blue line has held up despite losing Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets early Thursday to an injury that will keep him out until at least the quarterfinals. 

“We’ve defended, I would say, relatively well,” added Cooper, whose team stayed off the ice Saturday and will wrap up round-robin play Sunday against France. “When we’ve broken down, both our goaltenders have been there for us. Still a long way to go.”

Cale Makar and Devon Toews are an elite defence pair with both the Colorado Avalanche and Canada, but the inclusions of veteran Drew Doughty of the Los Angeles Kings and Dallas Stars counterpart Thomas Harley were both criticized when the likes of New York Islanders rookie phenom Matthew Schaefer was left out.

“You just control what you can control,” Harley, a late injury add to Canada’s 4 Nations victory 12 months ago, said of Olympic naysayers. “There’s always outside noise … we’ve learned to tune it out.”

Cooper said trust and familiarity played a role in selecting the country’s eight rearguards.

“We have a luxury of picking some pretty darn good players,” said the Tampa Bay Lightning bench boss. “There’s guys sitting at home that easily could be playing on this team.

“The guys that are here, it’s a duty to make sure you do your country proud.”

McDavid, who has six points through six periods to open his Games account, said a team that has yet to allow a goal at 5-on-5 continues to iron out its systems.

“Working through it,” said the Edmonton Oilers captain. “Maybe that familiarity from the 4 Nations helps, too. A little bit of that carry-over, understanding what the coaching staff’s asking from us. And getting good goaltending, too.”

Cooper said it’s important to find the right tone with a group as talented as Canada. And to this point, the probing roster queries have been answered.

“Job as a coach is let these guys breathe, let them go be hockey players,” Cooper said. “But understanding that in the end, it’s how many (goals) you keep out. 

“So far, so good.”

THREE-HEADED MONSTER

Cooper created a superstar line of McDavid, MacKinnon and Celebrini — a trio of No. 1 overall picks at the NHL draft — late in Friday’s first period. 

Celebrini, of the San Jose Sharks, and MacKinnon, a teammate of Makar and Toews in Colorado, clicked for goals in the second and third periods, respectively, after McDavid scored on a power play in the first.

“I don’t like playing them when they’re on their own team,” Thompson quipped. “I couldn’t imagine when there’s three of them on a line.”

DEPENDABLE OPTION

Cooper slid Suzuki from the wing to centre — his natural position — after putting MacKinnon with Celebrini and McDavid. The Montreal Canadiens captain didn’t blink.

“Suzuki’s a Swiss army knife,” Cooper said. “That kid can play anywhere. He can play goal if we asked him to.”

FRENCH CONNECTION

France suffered a 4-0 loss to Switzerland in its Thursday opener, but gave Czechia all it could handle for a time in what ended as a 6-3 loss Friday.

The roster includes Montreal forward Alexandre Texier along with former NHLers Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Stephane Da Costa.

“They compete hard, they’re physical,” said Canadian captain Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. “We’ve got to worry about ourselves in terms of making sure we get better, regardless of our opponent.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 14, 2026.