It should come to the surprise of no one that Canada comes as advertised. All that star power blended throughout that lineup is unfair.

Czechia learned that the hard way in Canada’s 5-0 Group A win Thursday to begin the Canadians’ Winter Olympic quest for a third gold medal since 2010.

One of those five goals was courtesy of the Vegas Golden Knights’ star connection of Mark Stone and Mitch Marner.

Stone’s goal gave Canada a 2-0 lead at 6:40 of the second period off a nifty passing sequence between Marner and Stone, starting on a give-and-go with center Sidney Crosby.

Marner took the puck to the center of the ice and fired a saucer pass over a diving Czechia defenseman to Stone for the tap-in.

“It was a good first step for us,” Marner said. “We’ll just try to keep getting better.”

Two Vegas Golden Knights combine for the Canada goal as Mitch Marner tees up Mark Stone with a beauty. 😮‍💨

📺 Peacock & USA | #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/eYS8K94hGr

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2026

Eleven players recorded a point for Canada. Knights defenseman Shea Theodore wasn’t one of them, finishing with two shots in 15:25.

The good news for Theodore is he got through the game healthy. He broke his wrist in the first period of the first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off last year and missed the rest of the tournament.

Goaltender Jordan Binnington, who backstopped Canada to the 4 Nations championship over Team USA, finished with a 26-save shutout.

Knights center Tomas Hertl centered Czechia’s top line with wingers Martin Necas and David Pastrnak. They combined for five shots — Hertl had three of them — but Hertl went a surprising 3-of-12 in the faceoff circle.

Canada will face Switzerland, and possibly Knights goalie Akira Schmid, at 12:10 p.m. Friday.

Schmid was the backup Thursday and witnessed Leonardo Genoni make a 27-save shutout in a 4-0 victory over France.

While it would help for Schmid to get a start, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Genoni get the back-to-back.

Czechia will look to rebound against France on Friday. Puck drop is set for 7:40 a.m.

Eichel, Hanifin win USA debut

As for the U.S., Jack Eichel recorded two power-play assists as part of a 5-1 win over Latvia to open Group C play.

The Knights’ star center factored on goals for Tage Thompson and Auston Matthews and was on the ice for Brady Tkachuk’s opening goal 5:29 into the game.

Back handed. Top shelf. USA extends the lead. 🙌 #WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/G7pBzvj4ip

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 12, 2026

Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin, rotating as the seventh defenseman, was a plus-2 in 11:01.

Team USA had two first-period goals disallowed because of two Latvia challenges. Latvia went into the first intermission tied 1-1 after a goal from winger Renars Krastenbergs.

The Americans hit two posts in the first 20 minutes that could have made the score more lopsided.

It was all United States soon after. Brock Nelson scored twice in the second period, and goaltender Connor Hellebuyck needed only 17 saves to preserve the win.

Team USA is off Friday, but returns to action Saturday against Denmark

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.