Canada scores 10 goals in men’s Olympic hockey game for first time in NHL era
Canada’s men’s hockey team has been dominant at the Olympic Games in the past, but few games in the NHL era have measured up to the beatdown Canada put on France to close out Group A action at Milan Cortina 2026.
With 10 goals in a 10-2 win, Canada hit double digits in men’s hockey at the Olympics for the first time since NHL players were introduced to the Games at the Nagano 1998 tournament, buoyed by a goal and three-point night from Edmonton Oilers’ superstar Connor McDavid.
On the back of his third three-point game, McDavid brought himself to nine points in Olympic competition, breaking Canada’s NHL record for the most points in the group stage of the tournament.
While Canada hit the double-digit mark for the first time since a 10-0 win against Norway at the 1992 Albertville Olympics, it was just 16 years since Canada had last won by eight goals, having beaten the Norwegians 8-0 at Vancouver 2010 on the road to a gold medal.
The win came a day after Finland dominated Italy 11-0 to set the record for the most goals scored in an Olympic men’s hockey game with NHL participation. Meanwhile, Canada’s all-time largest Olympic win remains a 33-0 victory over Switzerland at the Chamonix 1924 Olympics, which followed a 30-0 win over Czechoslovakia.
Canada’s last time scoring 20 goals in a single game came with a 23-1 win over Austria at the 1956 Olympics in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, the co-host city of the 2026 Games, on a team that featured Denis Brodeur, father of two-time Olympic champion netminder Martin Brodeur.
70 years ago. My dad at the 1956 Olympics in Cortina
With Sunday’s victory, McDavid has his sights on breaking the record for the most points by an NHL player at the Olympics, which sits at 11 from Teemu Selanne. Yet, he won’t come close to the all-time record, held by Harry Watson, who scored 37 goals at the 1924 games, before assists were officially tracked.
Canada now looks ahead to the quarterfinal stage, likely as the top seed from the preliminary rounds.