Canada Shifts Focus As Olympic Elimination Rounds Begin
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By Ava Tremblay
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Summary:
- Team Canada went undefeated in group play at the Olympics, outscoring teams 20–3.
- Balanced scoring and depth powered the men’s hockey team’s success early on.
- Elimination rounds begin Wednesday with tougher tests ahead.
Canada’s men’s hockey team could not have asked for a better start at the 2026 Winter Olympics, with three convincing wins in three games played and full complete control from start to finish.
Perfect Group Stage
Their latest result, a 10–2 win over France on Sunday, capped off a perfect group stage. Canada scored 20 goals across those games and allowed just three, finishing with the best goal differential in the tournament at plus-17.
However, everyone in the room knows the real test begins now.
“We had a job to do with the first t,hree and we’ve done that” forward Sam Reinhart said on Sunday after the game against France. “Now it’s shifting focus, and it’s starting for real.”
Canada will move on to the quarterfinals on Wednesday, when they will face either Denmark or Czechia. Canada already handled Czechia comfortably earlier in the tournament, winning 5–0, and followed that with a 5–1 victory over Switzerland.
Still, the stakes change quickly in elimination games, where one mistake can end a gold medal run.
“The Stakes Are Higher”
Captain Sidney Crosby said.
The stakes are higher but that’s why you put in so much preparation. That’s why you really work to get your identity as a team so that when you get to these big games that you’re out there and the intensity, the speed, it’s all there, but you understand your game and that remains the same.
Canada’s strength so far has been its depth. Six players, including Crosby, Connor McDavid, and Nathan MacKinnon, have scored multiple goals. Nineteen-year-old Macklin Celebrini leads the team with four. In total, 18 of the 22 players have already recorded at least one point.
Defenceman Drew Doughty said,
We have so many guys stepping up. There are so many guys playing well. Everybody is contributing.
That balance, combined with experience, gives the team confidence heading into the knockout rounds.
Head coach Jon Cooper believes that experience matters.
This group has never really failed that [do or die] game before. I didn’t want this one to slip through the cracks. It didn’t. Now we’re ready.
Even with three dominant wins, the players believe there is more to give.
“We’re going in the right direction,” Doughty said, “but I know for sure we haven’t played our best yet.”
