After the first period between Canada and Czechia, Canada has a 1-0 lead. Cale Makar has an assist on the lone goal, scored by Macklin Celebrini of the San Jose Sharks. With that being said, the Avs players have been noticeable.
Nathan MacKinnon scored the first goal of the game, but it was disallowed because of a Nick Suzuki penalty. I’m not sure what the speed of that shot was, but it seemed extremely fast and that’s not a surprise given that it is MacKinnon. MacKinnon also contributed to the physical side of hockey early on, laying a huge hit on a Czechia player.
Team Canada was the faster team of the two, but what do you expect? It’s a team that has MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Celebrini, Cale Makar, Sidney Crosby and Devon Toews. That’s probably the scariest lineup I have ever seen on a hockey roster. It would be shocking to me if Canada doesn’t win gold during the Olympics.
MacKinnon still has a chance to lead Team Canada in goals throughout the tournament. His 40-goal season through 55 games leads the league, and his ability to keep up with the speed with his Canada teammates is just incredible.
Makar played a sound game in the first period. He had two shots and the assist in 5:39 in 12 shifts of action in the first period. Toews has played 6:28 in 10 shifts in the first period. He was on the ice for the lone goal in the period, netting him a plus-1 performance.
As for Martin Necas of Czechia, he was on the ice for the first goal of the game, giving him a minus-1 through the first period. He has one shot through 7:36 of ice time and eight shifts. It’s definitely odd to see Necas facing MacKinnon, Makar and Toews, but it’s pretty cool, too. It would be awesome to see all of these players earn a medal. With three to go around, it’s certainly possible.
Near the halfway point of the third period, MacKinnon was in perfect position to tap in a goal on a Team Canada power play. It’s funny that multiple Avalanche players (Gabriel Landeskog on Wednesday) have scored a power play goal in these Olympics, given the Avalanche’s struggles at that aspect of their game.
The end result was a 5-0 victory for Canada. It was a completely one-sided game. Three Avalanche players finish the day happy, while another (Necas) does not.