MILAN — Two of the favorites to go to the Olympic men’s hockey championship are opening play Thursday at the 2026 Winter Olympics.
Canada defeated Czechia 5-0 and the USA is facing Latvia at 3:10 p.m. ET. Canada and the USA played in the championship game of the 4 Nations Face-Off, which the Canadians won in overtime.
The goalies from that game are in their country’s net for their respective openers. The St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Binnington had a 26-save shutout for Canada. The USA is starting Connor Hellebuyck, the reigning Hart Trophy/Vezina Trophy winner from the Winnipeg Jets.
Switzerland beat France 4-0. Germany and Denmark are playing at 3:10 p.m. ET.
The USA-Latvia and Germany-Denmark games are tied 1-1 after the first period.
Here’s a look at Olympic men’s hockey action for Thursday, Feb. 12:
Canada vs. Czechia score: Canada wins 5-0
NHL second-year player Macklin Celebrini contributed a goal in his Olympic debut to help Canada make easy work of Group A cohort Czechia. The Czechs were stymied by Jordan Binnington, who turned away 11 shots in the first period and another 11 in the second period and 26 total.
While the Czechs struggled to score, the Canadians took a 3-0 lead in the second period on goals from Mark Stone and Bo Horvat. Using their tremendous speed, the Canadians kept building, moving ahead 4-0 on a goal from Nathan MacKinnon in the third period. Nick Suzuki also scored.
‘It was special to go out there and play and pull this jersey on. A pretty wild environment. Very, very cool to be a part of,’ Canada’s Connor McDavid said.
The Czechs went with Lukas Dostal in goal over Utah Mammoth netminder Karel Vejmelka because Dostal backstopped the Czechs to the gold medal at the 2024 world championships.
‘You know what I liked? I thought we got better as that game went on,’ Canada coach Jon Cooper said. ‘And I don’t care who anybody is, when you’re playing in the Olympics first time, it never gets old and everybody’s got the jitters. I think you could tell that in the beginning of the game.’
Canada defenseman Josh Morrissey, who was clipped by Martin Necas in the first period, played one shift in the second period and left the game. Cooper had no update on him after the game.
Switzerland vs. France score: Switzerland wins 4-0
Timo Meier scored twice in the third period and J.J. Moser had a goal and an assist. Leonardo Genoni, who helped Switzerland finish second at the 2025 world championships, got the start in net and had a 27-save shutout.
Olympic men’s hockey scores today
Switzerland 4, France 0
Canada 5, Czechia 0
3:10 p.m.: USA vs. Latvia
3:10 p.m.: Germany vs. Denmark
Where to watch Olympic men’s hockey
Watch Winter Olympics on Peacock
How the Olympics men’s hockey tournament works
The 12 teams are divided into three groups. They are:
Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, France
Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy
Group C: USA, Germany, Latvia, Denmark
Teams play one game each against the other three teams in their group. Countries get three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime win, one for an overtime/shootout loss and zero for a regulation loss.
After the preliminary round is complete, teams are seeded 1 through 12 under the following criteria:
Higher position in the group
Higher number of points
Better goal difference
Higher number of goals scored for
Better IIHF world ranking
The top four teams get a bye to quarterfinal. Teams 5-12 play in a qualifying round, with the winners going to the quarterfinals.
How long is NHL Olympic break? Key remaining dates in 2025-26 season
The NHL will take a break from Feb. 6-24 for the 2026 Winter Olympics. There are seven games on the schedule on Feb. 5. No trades can take place during the Olympic break.
When is the Olympic men’s hockey tournament?
The tournament starts Feb. 11 with two games. The USA opens play Feb. 12 against Latvia. All teams will play three games during the round robin, which runs through Feb. 15. The top four teams get byes to the quarterfinals.
Playoff qualification games are on Feb. 17 for teams ranked fifth through 12th, quarterfinals are Feb. 18 and semifinals are Feb. 20.
The bronze medal game is Feb. 21 and the gold medal game is Sunday, Feb. 22.