2026 Olympic Men’s Hockey: Top standouts from Canada vs. France
Canada needed goals – plenty of them – to help them ensure top spot among all 12 teams in the round robin. Unfortunately for France, Canada lived up to the hype, dominating with a 10-2 victory.
The Canadians will await the outcome of USA vs. Denmark to see if their 17-goal differential was enough to secure top spot.
Floran Douray and Sacha Treille had their Olympic moments for France, scoring a goal each to give the bench something to cheer about. But nine different goal-scorers – Tom Wilson, Devon Toews, Mark Stone, Cale Makar, Macklin Celebrini (twice), Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Bo Horvat and Brandon Hagel – made sure to make France’s life miserable.
Crosby and McDavid finished the night with three points each, while Stone, Celebrini and Wilson had two points apiece.
Here’s a look at the top performers in the one-sided affair:
Canada
#7 Devon Toews, D (Colorado Avalanche): His buddy Makar might get most of the love, but Toews had quite the game himself. He scored his first career Olympic goal in the first period, but he also had some great defensive plays in his own zone at times where Makar was caught up the ice. Toews was everywhere in the first period in particular – he was playing with more pace than we’ve seen.
#8 Cale Makar, D (Colorado Avalanche): Makar makes everyone around him better. Period. Makar made some great passes with the puck all game, as you’d expect. He also scored and had a couple of decent chances from the point, too. Makar likes to contribute on the rush, and he’s not afraid to rush in and act as a fourth forward. You know, the usual Makar stuff.
#17 Macklin Celebrini, LW (San Jose Sharks): It’s funny: when you think you’ve contained McDavid on the ice, Celebrini is always there to make you look stupid. With two goals and an assist, Celebrini was great again today. He scored on a shorthanded goal and then kept finding McDavid all over the ice. Celebrini has been one of Canada’s best players all tournament long.
#43 Tom Wilson, LW (Washington Capitals): Wilson scored his first Olympic goal and then proceeded to run into everyone and force turnovers. That’s what he does the best – he’s a disruptor in a way nobody on France was able to deal with. He’s especially valuable in front of the net, allowing his linemates free rein to skate around and get shots on net, just for him to pick up rebounds. And, uh, how about the fight?
#61 Mark Stone, RW (Vegas Golden Knights): You know, so much was made about Stone’s inclusion heading into this tournament. But given he played on the top line at the 4 Nations Face-Off, it shouldn’t have been surprising. He was great against Czechia and then had a few good looks before scoring, of all things, a shorthanded breakaway goal in the first period before adding an assist late in the second. Sure, his skating isn’t great, but he has the physical strength to win battles, can clearly shoot and has great chemistry with Mitch Marner.
#87 Sidney Crosby, C (Pittsburgh Penguins): Crosby is now the all-time Canadian points leader in the NHL era of the Olympics, thanks to a three-point night, putting him at 16 overall. He’s the smartest player on just about every shift he takes, and he’s clearly not slowing down despite being one of the oldest players in the tournament.
#97 Connor McDavid, C (Edmonton Oilers): McDavid registered three points again today, becoming the first player to register three points in three straight games in the NHL era of the Olympics. His speed, his skill, everything that makes him the best player in the world: he showed that today. Nobody can catch him.
France
#33 Julian Junca, G: Happy birthday, JJ. Your present? Taking on a Canadian team, trying to lead the tournament in goal differential. Sometimes, a situation like that might be calming for a goaltender – nobody expects you to win, so just play your game. Junca played some of his best international hockey to date tonight, making some huge stops on the likes of Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon. Everything fell apart in the end, but Junca kept the French in it for half the game, at least.
#24 Justin Addamo, C: At 6-foot-6 and 240 pounds, Addamo is an absolute unit. He’s not quick, he’s not overly skilled. But he has the pure strength to force himself into scoring lanes and his shot is quite impressive, too. The former AHL forward powered hard through the middle of the ice and got a shot on net to make it 1-1, shocking the Canadian faithful who expected a much more lopsided start to the game. Addamo had an assist on the second French goal to cap off a massive night for the massive dude.
PRESENTED BY DAILY FACEOFF’S OLYMPIC COVERAGE
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