MILAN — A dream start for Team Canada. Another international hockey nightmare for Josh Morrissey?
Thursday’s dominant 5-0 win over Czechia to open the Winter Olympics came with a major price tag, as the star Winnipeg Jets defenceman left the game early in the second period and didn’t return, putting his availability for the rest of the best-on-best tournament in potential peril.
Morrissey’s left leg appeared to clip the right leg of Czechia forward Martin Necas on his final shift of the opening frame, causing him to labour as he made his way back to the bench. Morrissey came out with his teammates to start the second and took one shift, which once again ended with him grimacing as he left the ice, this time for good.
Petr David Josek / The Associated Press
Winnipegs Mark Stone (right) scored his first Olympic goal, the second on the night for Canada, and Jordan Binnington (left) recorded his first Olympic shutout in Canada’s 5-0 win over Czechia Thursday in Milan.
“I feel for Josh. Hopefully he’s OK,” said his blue-line partner, Colton Parayko.
Canadian head coach Jon Cooper didn’t have an immediate update following the game, saying he had not yet spoken with Morrissey or team doctors.
This must feel painfully familiar to Morrissey, who was a member of last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off team but ultimately missed the gold medal final — which his team won 3-2 in overtime over the United States — due to severe illness.
“I didn’t see what happened, I just hope he’s all right,” said Canadian captain Sidney Crosby. “Obviously, given (the 4 Nations), that’s difficult. We all want to be out there on the ice, with him it’s the same thing. Just hoping he’s all right.”
Morrissey spoke about that heartache on Wednesday with the Free Press, saying he was looking forward to this golden opportunity at his first-ever Olympics. Approximately 20 family members and friends came to Italy to cheer him on.
Now, his status is very much up in the air after playing just 13 shifts for 7:10 of ice time. Canada returns to action on Friday against Switzerland (2:10 p.m. CT), then closes out pool play on Sunday against France (9:40 a.m. CT). Puck drops on the quarterfinal round Feb. 18.
Morrissey’s injury was the only dark cloud on an otherwise terrific day which began with a bang — literally — as Connor McDavid threw a huge bodycheck on his first shift, flatting one of his opponents.
“When guys pull their country’s jersey on, it’s a bolt of energy that goes through you,” said McDavid. “So just trying to contribute any way I can. And we want to be a hard forechecking team, and it’s my chance to contribute to that.”
Canada took it to Czechia early and often, with 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini opening the scoring in the waning seconds of the first period, tipping a perfect Cale Makar shot past goaltender Lukas Dostal.
“Nerves, excitement, all of the above,” Celebrini said of his Olympic debut. “My heart was racing, I wanted to kind of get out on the ice and start playing. This is kind of what we’ve been waiting for ever since the team was selected, so it was good to get out there and start the process.”
Winnipeg’s Mark Stone made it 2-0 early in the second period, followed by a Bo Horvat breakaway beauty later in the middle frame. A tick-tack-toe power-play goal featuring Canada’s three biggest stars — Crosby to McDavid to Nathan MacKinnon — early in the third really put this one to bed. Nick Suzuki closed out the scoring.
“Two of the best players ever to play passing it to me is cool, you know?” said MacKinnon. “I didn’t do much for that one. Just blessed to be on the back side. Anyone would have put that in.”
McDavid led the way with three assists, while Crosby and defenceman Thomas Harley each had two helpers.
“A pretty wild environment. Very, very cool to be a part of,” said McDavid of the NHL’s long-awaited return to the Olympics, which included plenty of dueling chants between Canadian and Czechia fans.
Goaltender Jordan Binnington, the 4 Nations hero, at least temporarily silenced critics of his selection to the Olympic team by stopping all 26 shots he faced.
“He’s a big-moment guy. That’s the best compliment,” said McDavid. “He’s been in the big moments and really flourished and succeeded. No different tonight. We had all the confidence in the world.”
A pair of Manitobans were the two healthy scratches for Canada: forward Seth Jarvis and defenceman Travis Sanheim, who would draw in for Morrissey.
Hellebuyck backstops Team USA to first win
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck arrived in Italy this past weekend not knowing where he stood on the depth chart. But the reigning Hart and Vezina Trophy winner answered the call on Thursday night, stopping 17 of 18 shots he faced to pace his star-studded team to a 5-1 victory over Latvia.
“It was awesome,” he said. “I was going to be ready no matter what, if my name was called or not. I think the guys played great in front of me. Just to be part of this team is fun, it’s really fun.”
Jets teammate Kyle Connor had a quiet night, registering no shots on goal in 11:20 of ice time.
Hellebuyck, who is a creature of habit, said he was battling some butterflies before the puck dropped.
“Yeah, a little bit. There’s a lot going on, it’s not your every day NHL life over here,” he said.
“You just try to adjust to essentially dorm life, late games, time zone. So yeah, there’s a lot going on, but that’s what’s exciting about it. It’s a new challenge and a new way to adapt, and that’s what I love the most.”
Niederreiter’s Swiss team blanks France
This felt like a home game for Jets forward Nino Niederreiter. There was no shortage of Swiss support on hand as a team many puck pundits think could be a dark horse medal contender made relatively easy work of an overmatched French club.
“The atmosphere was so fantastic. There were so many Swiss fans coming down from Switzerland to watch us play,” said Switzerland’s opening-ceremony flagbearer Niederreiter.
“That’s kind of what it’s like for us (in Europe). Which is great. We love our fans from Switzerland coming down here and supporting us. It’s a great feeling.”
Leonardo Genoni, a 38-year-old who has spent his whole career playing pro in Switzerland, stopped all 27 shots he faced for the 4-0 shutout.
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“It’s great to start off the tournament with a win, that’s what we came here to do,’’ said Niederreiter.
“I wish we could have played 60 minutes the way we started off the first 10, it’s human nature you let it up a little bit. But at same time, we got the job done and that’s all that matters.’’
Now, a much stiffer test with Canada up next.
“Obviously a big team coming up,” said Niederreiter. “We’re going to try our best to poke the bear a little bit and see if we can go from there.”
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Mike McIntyre is a sports reporter whose primary role is covering the Winnipeg Jets. After graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College in 1995, he spent two years gaining experience at the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in 1997, where he served on the crime and justice beat until 2016. Read more about Mike.
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