MILAN — Team Canada asserted its dominance for a second consecutive night at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, overpowering Switzerland 5–1 at Milano Santagiulia Arena on Friday. With the emphatic preliminary-round victory, Canada secured first place in Group A, clinched a direct berth into the quarterfinals, and once again reinforced its standing as the tournament’s gold-medal favorite.

The newly assembled trio of Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini — three of the NHL’s top four scorers this season — dismantled Switzerland with breathtaking efficiency, combining for eight points on three goals and five assists.

MacKinnon and McDavid each produced a goal and two assists in a commanding display of pace and precision, while Celebrini added two points of his own, including his second goal in as many games, further underscoring the line’s immediate chemistry and overwhelming firepower.

"The Swiss gave us everything we could handle. They're a really, really good team, and we knew that was going to be the case," McDavid said. "We found a way to get an early couple of goals, but for the most part, they were probably the better team early on. (Logan Thompson) gave us a chance again, and kind of let us get going."

At 5:25 of the opening period, Swiss forward Dean Kukan tripped reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner Sam Bennett as he broke in alone. Just 19 seconds into the ensuing power play, McDavid capitalized, wiring home his first Olympic goal to give Canada a 1–0 lead.

The tempo was relentless through the opening seven minutes. Moments after striking, McDavid watched as captain Sidney Crosby sprang free on a breakaway, only to be denied by Akira Schmid, who stunned the crowd with an acrobatic scorpion save.

Midway through the frame, McDavid turned distributor, threading a cross-ice pass to Thomas Harley to double the advantage.

Four seconds later, Bo Horvat was assessed a high-sticking minor following review, sending Switzerland to its first power play. Pius Suter converted on the man advantage, finishing a sequence initiated by Sven Andrighetto to cut the deficit to 2–1 heading into intermission.

Celebrini restored breathing room at 4:14 of the second, corralling a no-look backhand feed from MacKinnon and hammering a one-timer past Schmid from the left circle to make it 3–1.

Crosby extended the lead to 4–1 at 7:28 of the third, deftly redirecting a blistering pass from Mitch Marner for his first goal of the tournament.

 "(I) thought in the second (period) we found our game a little bit more," Crosby said. "Played pretty fast, got that goal from (Macklin Celebrini), and I thought from there we had a lot more momentum."  

MacKinnon sealed the result at 13:03, finishing off another seamless sequence alongside McDavid and Celebrini, as the trio combined once more to emphatically underline Canada’s offensive superiority — and its unmistakable championship pedigree.