Jason La Rose
GAME NOTES: CANADA VS. FRANCE (FEB. 15)
With its place in the quarterfinals confirmed, Canada’s Men’s Olympic Team closes out the preliminary round Sunday at the 2026 Olympic Winter Games with a matchup against France.
Last Game
Canada made it two wins in as many days Friday, downing Switzerland 5-1. Connor McDavid led the way offensively again, scoring once and adding two assists, as did Nathan MacKinnon. Macklin Celebrini added his second goal in as many games and Logan Thompson was solid in his first start, finishing with 24 saves.
France put a scare into Czechia on Friday, scoring three goals in 4:53 early in the second period to take a 3-2 lead in what would finish as a 6-3 loss to the Czechs. Louis Boudon was the offensive star, scoring twice and adding an assist, and Martin Neckar was terrific in the French goal, making 20 saves before he was replaced early in the third period.
Last Meeting
For the last Olympic meeting between Canada and France, you have to go all the way back 32 years to the day—Feb. 15, 1994. Tood Hlusko did the damage, scoring a pair of goals, and Corey Hirsch needed to make only nine saves to backstop Canada to a 3-1 win in Lillehammer.
Much more recently, the Canadians and French met in prelim play last spring at the 2025 IIHF World Championship. A trio of Olympians made an impact in that one—Bo Horvat scored a pair of goals, Sidney Crosby got one and Jordan Binnington posted a 15-save shutout as Canada earned a 5-0 victory.
What to Watch
First off, let’s look at the big picture. With top spot in Group A secured, Canada remains firmly in contention for the top overall seed in the preliminary round. That could come down to goal differential, with the Canadians sitting at +9 through two games. So goals are important (not that there’s ever really a time where they aren’t). Speaking of goals, or setting them up, Connor McDavid has been a man on a mission through two games. McDavid became the NHL player to open an Olympic tournament with back-to-back three-point efforts, following up his three assists against Czechia with a goal and two helpers against the Swiss. How productive has the Edmonton Oilers star been? Since Canada returned to Olympic hockey in 1980, his six points would have led Canada in scoring at two Games (1998, 2006), tied him for the lead at another (2014) and put him within one of the team lead at six others (1980, 1984, 1994, 2002, 2018, 2022).
The French have only a single active NHLer— Montreal Canadiens forward Alexandre Texier has 17 points (7-10—17) in 30 games with the Habs after starting the season in St. Louis. Three others have NHL experience; Yohann Auvitu, Stéphane Da Costa and Pierre-Édouard Bellemare have combined for 805 games, with 700 belonging to Bellemare. Outside of Texier, the rest of the roster is spread across Europe, with representation from teams in the ICEHL (Austria), Extraliga (Czechia), Liiga (Finland), Ligue Magnus (France), KHL (Russia), Tipsport liga (Slovakia) and National League (Switzerland).
A Look Back
The Canadians and French met at three consecutive Games from 1988 to 1994, with Canada winning all three.
The first meeting was a record-setter as the teams combined for 10 goals in the first period (Canada led 7-3 after 20 minutes). Serge Boisvert scored two of those 10 and added his hat trick marker in the third as the Canadians scored a wild 9-5 win in Calgary.
All-time record: Canada leads 3-0 Canada goals: 15 France goals: 8