Canada ended Day 3 of men’s Olympic hockey with a resounding 5-1 win over Switzerland. With the win, Canada has secured the top spot in Group A with just one game left against France on Feb. 15.
Heading into the game, both teams were coming off blowout wins, with Switzerland taking down France 4-0 and Canada beating Czechia 5-0 in their respective opening games. Although it was a great game, it feels like it will be overshadowed by the heartbreaking injury Kevin Fiala suffered late in the third period.
Here are my takeaways from the game.
First Period Issues for Canada?
Canada left the first period with a one-goal lead, just like they did against Czechia, but just like the Czechia game, it felt like they were outplayed through the opening 20 minutes.
Related: 3 Takeaways from Canada’s 5-0 Win over Czechia
I don’t want to be negative because I think both games were extremely well played, but it has been pretty evident through the two opening games that they got outplayed in the first period.
Early in the game, Canada gave up a 3-on-1 opportunity, and Logan Thompson made a fantastic stop to keep the game scoreless. Not long after the save, Sam Bennett drew a tripping call, which put Canada on the power play. Connor McDavid capitalized on it, which made that Thompson save look even bigger.
It’s hard to say they can’t do that against top competition because Czechia and Switzerland aren’t easy opponents, but if you have to play against Team USA, a slow opening period will make it extremely difficult.
I Feel Awful for Fiala and Switzerland
My plan as the game went on was to write: look out for Switzerland. They held their own for 60 minutes today against Canada, and while I knew they had a decent roster, their performance surprised me.
They looked better than Czechia did against Canada, and before the brutal injury to Fiala, I thought there was a solid chance they could beat Czechia and finish second in the group.
With Fiala being stretchered off after Tom Wilson fell on his knee, it looks like his Olympics are most likely over. Without him in the lineup, Switzerland’s chances of medaling take a huge hit.
Everyone Is Buying in for Canada
Heading into the tournament, one of the storylines was what the physical play would look like with the game being called under IIHF rules rather than NHL rules. Through the games I’ve watched so far, the physicality has been through the roof.
What has impressed me about Canada is that it isn’t just Bennett and Wilson bringing the physicality. The person who has led the charge physically has been McDavid.
It sounds like a bit of a cliché, but when McDavid is the one running people over, it gives nobody any sort of excuse to not do the same. You can see that work its way through the team right now, even Mitch Marner, who isn’t known for his physicality, is trying to throw his body around.
If they’re going to beat a team like Sweden or the USA and win gold, they need everyone to play the hardest they’ve ever played.
Canada Taking Young Talent Pays Off
Throughout the selection process, one of the bigger discussions was do you take Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard.
Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong elected to take Celebrini and passed on Bedard. He had two other chances to take Bedard with Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli being ruled out with injury, but still didn’t take him.
Through two games, Team Canada head coach Jon Cooper has trusted Celebrini to play on the top line next to McDavid and, as the game went on, Nathan MacKinnon.
Playing a 19-year-old with top-line duties is a huge challenge, but he has passed with flying colours. He has two goals in two games, both of which were at even strength, as well as an assist today against Switzerland.
For a program that has a history of being scared to trust young talent (the 2006 Olympics in Torino is the perfect example), it is paying off so far.
Is Goaltending Actually a Weakness for Canada?
The area of the team that gave most Canadians anxiety was the goaltending. So far, both Jordan Binnington and Thompson have turned in two great performances.
Thompson will probably want the goal he allowed back, but he was fantastic outside of that one rough goal.
I mentioned the 3-on-1 save early in the game already, but it was a tight game up until the third period, and Thompson made a few key stops.
Binnington has earned the starting job, but right now, Canada should be comfortable with either Binnington or Thompson playing big games for this team.
