Head coach John Cooper's successful experiment bodes well for Canada's Olympic team.Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
About midway through Canada’s opening game at the Olympics, Mitch Marner lifted a backhand saucer pass over a sprawling Czech defender, leaving Mark Stone with a wide-open net.
In fact, Stone was left with such an excessive amount of net to work with that he was still marvelling at Marner’s pass a few hours hour later as he strode off the ice following Canada’s 5-0 win over Czechia.
“Perfect,” Stone said. “If you don’t have your stick on the ice, it makes you look stupid.”
As Canada tries to figure out its line combinations in Milan, Stone and Marner have a slight advantage over their teammates. Heading into Canada’s first game at the Olympics, Stone figures the two have probably played on the same line for about 15 or 20 games with the Vegas Golden Knights this year.
But for most of the team, these are new co-workers. And there are legitimate questions about how it will all come together.
Celebrini, Canada’s youngest player, shines in 5-0 opening win over Czechia
Would the combinations cooked up by Team Canada’s coaches work? Would mixing four lines of all-star forwards onto a single roster result in immediate cohesion or would it take time? Because at the Olympics, there’s not much time to tinker.
Head coach Jon Cooper, wearing a red maple leaf tie to the game, might as well have donned a white lab coat: This game was a full-on chemistry experiment.
“Everybody’s got the jitters, and I think you could tell that in the beginning of the game,” Cooper said.
“I thought we got better as that game went on.”
Canada got scoring from throughout its lineup, including a power-play goal by Nathan MacKinnon, assisted by Crosby, and McDavid.Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
Cooper’s most intriguing line combination – Connor McDavid centring 19-year-old phenom Macklin Celebrini and speedy, hulking power forward Tom Wilson – was the most electric early on.
McDavid launched himself into a Czech defender on the forecheck, prompting his teammates to joke later that the NHL’s best player might be trying to steal Wilson’s job as a body cruncher. Then Celebrini opened the scoring late in the first period, tipping a chest-high shot in front of the net.
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After that, the chemistry Cooper was hoping for started to unfold. Canada got scoring from throughout its lineup and the power play connected, with Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby, and McDavid combining on the fourth goal.
After playing together at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, Crosby said much of the roster has developed at least some familiarity.
“I think it helps,” Crosby said. “But at the same time there’s a lot of new combinations.”
The five goals came from different players – Celebrini, MacKinnon, Stone, Nick Suzuki and Bo Horvat – while 11 different players recorded points.
“That was the goal, and that was the plan,” Cooper said. “You’re not sure how it’s going to work out. But I thought everybody contributed in their own way. You need that.
“To me, in this tournament, you need depth, and if you can go four lines deep and kind of push play in your favour, you’re giving yourself a better chance.”
Several players admitted to nerves heading into the game. This is the first time NHL players have been at the Olympics since 2014, meaning most of the team, aside from Crosby and Drew Doughty, were making their debuts.
Even McDavid, no stranger to big moments, said he felt the weight of his first Olympic game.
“There was a moment today, just getting ready to go,” McDavid said. “It’s been a long time coming, and it’s special to be here and special to be part of this group.”
Starting goalie Binnington is being relied on for his 'big-game' play.Mike Segar/Reuters
The chemistry experiment wasn’t just about the line combinations though. Cooper faced questions before the tournament about whether starting goalie Jordan Binnington, who’s been grinding through a subpar year in St. Louis, was up to the task.
Binnington stole the show at the 4 Nations tournament, making key saves in the deciding game against the United States, before McDavid won it in overtime.
On Thursday, Binnington looked relaxed and confident as he picked up the shutout.
'Big-game player’ Jordan Binnington back in the spotlight for Team Canada
Asked when he decided the goalie would start Canada’s Olympic opener, Cooper replied, in a nod to Binnington’s 4 Nations heroics last February: “358 days ago.”
Stone thought Canada showed some nerves in the first period, given the anticipation for this game, but said Binnington calmed things down with multiple saves early on.
“It was a little jittery, a little too much excitement,” Stone said. “He made some key saves for us to settle us down.”
Binnington said the atmosphere at the arena was not like most NHL games, with loud music, raucous crowd chants and railings behind the glass draped with Canadian and Czech flags everywhere he looked.
“It’s a little different,” Binnington said. “Just take a breath after the first period there, and then we just kept working one shift at a time all the way through.”
As experiments go, Canada found chemistry in its opener. There will be other games to develop it. Its next matchup is Friday against Switzerland.
But Cooper liked the team’s first 60 minutes in Milan.
“It’s just one game but if this is the way we’ve started, and the way today has gone, pretty proud and confident in the way this team’s going to play,” he said.
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