Jason La Rose
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. SWITZERLAND (FEB. 13)
It’s right back to work for Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team, which faces off against Switzerland in the second half of a tournament-opening back-to-back Friday at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games.
Last Game
Canada took care of business in its prelim opener Thursday, earning a comfortable 5-0 win over Czechia to start Group A play. Macklin Celebrini, Mark Stone, Bo Horvat, Nathan MacKinnon and Nick Suzuki provided the offence, Connor McDavid chipped in with three assists and Jordan Binnington turned aside all 26 shots he faced to record the shutout.
The Swiss started with a shutout win of their own on Thursday, getting 27 saves from 38-year-old Leonardo Genoni in a 4-0 win over France. Timo Meier scored twice and Janis Moser added a goal and an assist for the Swiss, who led 2-0 before the game was four minutes old.
Last Meeting
The Canadians and Swiss clashed in the opening game of the 2018 Olympics in PyeongChang. Rene Bourque and Wojtek Wolski led the offence with two goals apiece, Chris Lee recorded three assists and the Canadians posted a 5-1 win. Ben Scrivens was terrific between the pipes for Canada, making 28 saves as Switzerland finished with a 29-28 advantage in shots on goal.
The teams met more recently in the semifinals of the 2024 IIHF World Championship in Prague. Trailing 2-0 after 20 minutes, Canada got goals from Brandon Tanev in the second period and John Tavares with 2:07 left in the third to force overtime and eventually a shootout. Connor Bedard scored first for the Canadians, but Kevin Fiala and Sven Andrighetto netted for the Swiss and Genoni shut the door, sending the Europeans to the gold medal game with a 3-2 win.
What to Watch
If you had Macklin Celebrini scoring the first goal of the tournament for the Canadians, raise your hand. The 19-year-old continued his coming-out season in Milan, playing 17:14 while skating alongside McDavid and Tom Wilson on Canada’s top line. All this from a player who was three years old when Sidney Crosby scored the Golden Goal in Vancouver and in Grade 3 when Canada last won Olympic gold in Sochi. The Vancouver product has been lights-out all season for the San Jose Sharks; he entered the Olympic break fourth in the NHL in scoring with 81 points (23-58—81), trailing only Canadian teammates McDavid and MacKinnon, and Nikita Kucherov. His international prowess should come as no surprise—Celebrini now has 15 goals and 32 points in 25 games wearing the Maple Leaf.
Like a fine wine, Genoni seems to be getting better with age for the Swiss. The goaltender is back for his third consecutive Olympics and has stopped pucks at each of the last eight IIHF World Championships, and at 11 in all dating back to 2011. He has also led the last two Men’s Worlds in goals-against average (1.39 and 0.99) and save percentage (.941 and .953), and last spring turned in one of the best goaltending performances in tournament history, allowing just seven goals and seven games and backstopping the Swiss to overtime in the gold medal game, making 39 saves in a heartbreaking 1-0 loss to the United States. Not surprisingly, Genoni earned Most Valuable Player and Best Goaltender honours. Oh, and he’s been pretty good with EV Zug in the National League this season, posting a 2.38 GAA and .915 SV% in 34 games.
A Look Back
The head-to-head history between the Canadians and Swiss goes all the way back to 1924, with Canada winning nine of the 10 meetings.
That first meeting, 102 years in Chamonix, still stands as Canada’s most prolific offensive effort in an Olympic game—led by 13 goals (no, that’s not a typo) from Harry Watson, the Canadians posted a 33-0 win en route to the gold medal.
All-time record: Canada leads 9-1 (0-1 in SO) Canada goals: 86 Switzerland goals: 10