Canada’s men’s hockey team opened its Olympic tournament with a 5-0 victory over Switzerland on Wednesday, February 18, 2026, according to reports from the game. The win comes after a 12-year hiatus that saw National Hockey League (NHL) players return to Olympic competition.
The Canadian team followed up their initial win with a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Czechia. Maklin Celebrini position Canada ahead in the fourth minute, but Lukas Sedlak quickly equalized. David Pastrnak then gave Czechia the lead with a power-play goal in the 15th minute. Nathan MacKinnon leveled the score, also on a power play, in the 33rd minute.
The game remained tightly contested, with Ondrej Palat restoring Czechia’s lead with a wrist shot late in the third period. Still, Nick Suzuki responded with a long-distance goal to tie the game at 3-3. The decisive goal came in overtime, with Mitch Marner scoring with a backhand shot to secure the 4-3 win for Canada.
Celebrini finished the game with three points, leading the Canadian offense.
In other Olympic action on Wednesday, Slovakia defeated Germany 6-2. Later in the day, Finland faced Switzerland and the United States played Sweden, both vying for a place in the semi-finals.
Latvia’s Olympic run concluded after a 5-1 loss to Sweden in the qualification round, finishing in tenth place overall. The previous Olympic hockey tournament saw Finland emerge as the gold medal winner.
