Team Canada skated at the practice rink at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Connor McDavid leads the Olympic tournament in scoring with nine points, but Team Canada\u2019s top-line centre is contributing in so many ways beyond just goals and assists. <\/p>\n
\u201cI mean, he\u2019s doing everything,\u201d said captain Sidney Crosby. \u201cWhether it\u2019s with the puck, without the puck, [being] physical, he\u2019s leading by example in every possible way. He\u2019s poised. Guys have taken some runs at him, he just continues to play. He\u2019s shown a lot of focus that way. He\u2019s been leading the way for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDavid\u2019s laser focus has been evident from the moment he landed in Milan. He landed a big hit on his first shift in the first game. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pretty incredible,\u201d said linemate Tom Wilson. \u201cI mean, he\u2019s playing on another level right now. He\u2019s the best in the world. When he\u2019s your linemate you might have to think the game a little bit quicker. You might have to get the puck to him a little bit quicker, but once he has it special things happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDavid seems to be making the most of every play be it in a game or in a practice drill. <\/p>\n
\u201cPlaying with Connor has been a highlight of my career,\u201d said Wilson. \u201cI can learn so much from him … A day like today, Connor and Sid are the hardest-working guys, executing at the highest level on the ice in practice.\u201d<\/p>\n
McDavid has recorded three points in all three games he\u2019s played here. So, how can Czechia slow him down in Wednesday\u2019s quarterfinal? <\/p>\n
\u201cI gotta talk to Coop [and tell him] not to play him,\u201d said smiling defenceman Radko Gudas, who played for Canada\u2019s coach Jon Cooper early in his NHL career. \u201cJust try to be in the middle of the ice as much as possible and don\u2019t give him enough speed. Try to clog the middle for him or try to be right on him and not give him space in the neutral zone especially, but it\u2019s going to be really hard. He\u2019s one of the top players and he\u2019s playing with some great players as well. It\u2019s one of the big challenges with Team Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n
Gudas on key against McDavid: ‘I gotta talk to Coop not to play him’ After Czechia defeated Denmark in their qualification round game to setup a date with Canada in the quarter-finals on Wednesday, Radko Gudas spoke about his team’s performance in a tight game and having another shot at playing Canada. <\/p>\n
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Nathan MacKinnon missed Tuesday\u2019s practice. The Colorado Avalanche centre seemed to hurt his leg late in Sunday\u2019s blowout win over France. <\/p>\n
\u201cZero concern,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cHe\u2019s a bull that kid. To have that much power, strength and skill all packaged in one, it\u2019s a rarity. He\u2019s a gamer that kid.\u201d<\/p>\n
In a sign Canada is confident MacKinnon will play, they did not make a significant change to their power play at practice. Instead, Wilson, also a right shot, simply served as a placeholder in MacKinnon\u2019s spot on the flank of the top unit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were calling me \u2018Nate\u2019 out there for a couple minutes, but it was just in good fun,\u201d Wilson said with a smile. \u201cThey needed a guy to go over and play on that side. There was one play where I said Nate definitely would\u2019ve made that pass to Sid 10 out of 10 times.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sam Bennett also missed the practice. <\/p>\n
\u201cA long tournament, a lot of stuff going on, and maintenance day for guys,\u201d Cooper said. \u201cBut I expect to have everybody fully healthy [for Wednesday].\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Zero concern\u2019: Cooper says just a maintenance day for MacKinnon Nathan MacKinnon was absent from Canada’s practice on Tuesday, but head coach Jon Cooper says he has ‘zero concern’ about his availability for their quarter-final and it was just a maintenance day. <\/p>\n
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That includes winger Brad Marchand, who missed the last two games to rest a lingering issue that flared up in an NHL game with the Florida Panthers on Jan. 29. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s always tough,\u201d said Marchand, who picked up an assist in the opening win over Czechia. \u201cYou work your entire life to be here and you want to be on the ice so bad.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although the 37-year-old admitted he didn\u2019t think he\u2019d be a regular in the lineup as he boarded the plane for Milan. <\/p>\n
\u201cYou always want to be in, but the goal was to be here and be part of this team,\u201d Marchand said. \u201cIt\u2019s an incredible group and, you know, to be honest, coming in I didn\u2019t think I\u2019d be in the lineup. I thought I\u2019d be the extra guy and be a voice and try to be loud and obnoxious in the room. I\u2019m just so proud and honoured to be part of this group.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marchand skated on the fourth line beside Bo Horvat and Seth Jarvis on Tuesday. He also took reps on the second power-play unit.<\/p>\n
Is Marchand raring to go? <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s always ready to go,\u201d Crosby said with a grin when asked about his fellow Nova Scotian. \u201cI feel like every time he\u2019s on the ice he\u2019s got a ton of energy. That\u2019s his personality.\u201d<\/p>\n
Marchand: ‘If called upon I’ll be ready to go’ Brad Marchand was back on the ice at Team Canada’s practice on Tuesday. He discusses how he’s feeling and says he’ll be ready to go if he’s slotted back into the lineup for their quarterfinal matchup. <\/p>\n
—<\/p>\n
Josh Morrissey skated beside Colton Parayko on the second defence pair at practice and appears poised to return to the lineup. <\/p>\n
\u201cJust taking it day-by-day,\u201d the Winnipeg Jet said. \u201cA good practice here and trying to get ready for the rest of the tournament the best I can.\u201d<\/p>\n
Morrissey sustained an undisclosed injury in the first game of the tournament. <\/p>\n
Morrissey believes Team Canada’s defence is rounding into form ahead of quarters Defenceman Josh Morrissey has been dealing with an undisclosed injury and did not play in Canada’s last two games but skated with Colton Parayko during Tuesday’s practice. Morrissey spoke about what he has seen from the team’s defence and how he is feeling. <\/p>\n
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Canada earned a bye to the quarterfinal by virtue of winning its group, which offered them the luxury of a two-day break between games. <\/p>\n
\u201cYesterday was a big day,\u201d said Cooper. \u201cIt was nice to have a complete day off. Lots of guys went to events [or were] with families and things like that, which we haven\u2019t been able to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
At Tuesday\u2019s workout, Canada spent time on 5-on-5 play, 5-on-6 play, the power play, the penalty kill and even did a couple 5-on-3 reps. <\/p>\n
\u201cNow we got a couple games under our belt, what\u2019s the holes in our game?\u201d Cooper said. \u201cHow can we fix them? Special teams is always a big thing, so you always spend a bunch of time on that. But, overall, get our legs under us and get ready for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wednesday will be Canada\u2019s first elimination game in Milan. If they lose, they go home without getting a shot at the medal round. Do they need a Game 7 mentality? <\/p>\n
\u201cI hate looking at it like that because you don\u2019t want to put any stress on yourselves thinking, \u2018This is it,\u2019\u201d Cooper said. \u201cYou don\u2019t want players playing the game not to make mistakes. I want them on their toes not their heels. That\u2019s how we have to play it and see how the chips fall. I like our mentality. It\u2019s not a qualification or quarterfinal, whatever, we\u2019re on game four. You gotta win six. This is game four. Let\u2019s go make the best [of it].\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon Cooper at the white board during practice <\/p>\n
First practice for \ud83c\udde8\ud83c\udde6 since start of tournament (played three in four and had day off yesterday) pic.twitter.com\/emJ4ZcoPJM<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Mark Masters (@markhmasters) February 17, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n —<\/p>\n The Crosby line with Mitch Marner and Mark Stone took the first reps in the 5-on-6 work. That trio is the one forward unit Cooper hasn\u2019t tinkered with so far. <\/p>\n \u201cThe line\u2019s been really good,\u201d the coach said. \u201cThey kind of check a lot of boxes and smart players. There\u2019s just a calmness about that line. Yeah, I\u2019m not breaking them up.\u201d<\/p>\n The second 5-on-6 unit was the McDavid line with Brandon Hagel, who plays with Cooper in Tampa Bay, replacing Macklin Celebrini on the left side. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n While Canada fine-tuned things, Czechia sweated out a tight 3-2 win over Denmark in the qualification round. <\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn\u2019t a great game from our side, but it was a playoff game and we advanced,\u201d said assistant coach Tomas Plekanec. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of things we want to get better at, but we\u2019re fighting through it throughout the tournament.\u201d<\/p>\n Czechia lost to Canada and Switzerland (in overtime) in the preliminary round and trailed against France in the second period before rallying for a win. <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re building our game,\u201d said Martin Necas, who scored the opening goal on Tuesday. \u201cObviously a couple tough ones, but it\u2019s all about one game. It would be different if it\u2019s a playoff series, best-of-seven. This is one game and we\u2019re going to give it our best.\u201d<\/p>\n What did Czechia learn during the 5-0 loss to Canada last week? <\/p>\n \u201cThat even though they have so much skill, they still play the right way,\u201d said goalie Lukas Dostal. <\/p>\n \u201cWe know what to expect,\u201d said Gudas. \u201cPut the pucks in the areas where we can get them back, make their D turn, stay out of the box, those are little things we can improve on.\u201d<\/p>\n Plekanec disappointed with Czechia’s game: ‘A lot of things we want to get better at’ Tomas Plekanec is representing Czechia for the third time at the Olympics, but for the first time as a coach. After his team’s win over Denmark, Plekanec explained how there is a lot of things they need to get better at as they prepare to play Canada in an elimination game. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Dostal is expected to start again on Wednesday even though it\u2019s rare for goalies to play on consecutive days in the NHL.<\/p>\n \u201cIn NHL you have so much travelling,\u201d Dostal, who plays for the Anaheim Ducks, pointed out. \u201cYou leave after the game. You just have to always stay on task because you play so many games. Here, you finish the practice, you go back to the Village and you can rest, you can eat some food and just hang out with your family. I would say it\u2019s actually more relaxing. You have more energy than actually the NHL games. That\u2019s my personal feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n The afternoon start on Tuesday also helped. <\/p>\n \u201cThe game is 4:40 and then you get back and you don\u2019t have to travel anywhere and you can just rest after the game,\u201d Dostal said. \u201cYou have all the time for the treatment and stuff like that. When you play some games 7:30 somewhere and then you have to travel and you get back to the hotel at 2 am and you fall to sleep at 4 am and then you have to go play back-to-back that makes it much different.\u201d<\/p>\n Jordan Binnington pitched a 26-save shutout against Czechia in the preliminary round and is expected to get the call again for Canada. The St. Louis Blues goalie had his own net at practice while Logan Thompson and Darcy Kuemper split time at the other end. <\/p>\n Dostal on Canada: ‘They have so much skill, but they still play the right way’ Czechia goaltender Lukas Dostal made 24 saves in his team’s victory over Denmark on Tuesday at The Winter Olympic Games. Afterwards, Dostal looked ahead to paying Canada in the quarter-finals, talked about what he learned from their first game against the Canadians in the preliminary round and the biggest challenge playing against Connor McDavid. <\/p>\n —<\/p>\n Following Tuesday\u2019s practice, Wilson spoke to the media for the first time since taking part in the first Olympic fight since 1998. He dropped the gloves with Pierre Crinon in the third period after the French defenceman hit Mackinnon up high. <\/p>\n \u201cWhen there\u2019s a hit like that made, it gets you on your toes a little bit,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cAnd then I ended up on a shift with him and we got tangled up and I obviously knew it was the same guy. I think it was just more him understanding there was going to be an answer. We\u2019re going to stick up for our teammates. I didn\u2019t know that necessarily it was going to be a fight, but it turned into that pretty quickly and then obviously more of a wrestling match and a melee and kind of chaos.\u201d<\/p>\n At the Olympics, a fighting major comes with an automatic game misconduct unlike in the NHL where it\u2019s simply a five-minute penalty. <\/p>\n \u201cI was aware of the rules,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cIf you fight you get thrown out, but generally speaking that\u2019s it. There\u2019s five minutes left in a 10-2 game. I was aware that as long as I didn\u2019t take it too far or he took it too far you should be good to play the next game.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilson was quick to settle down once referee Kyle Rehman got in his ear.<\/p>\n \u201cYou feel it out and you realize that sometimes it gets chaotic and then you kind of feel when it\u2019s getting too far and you have to stop,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cKyle, one of the refs who we\u2019re familiar with in the NHL, was kind of saying, \u2018Tommy, enough, enough. It\u2019s done. It\u2019s done.\u2019 I make sure I listen to him. I stopped because the linesmen are trying to do their job, the refs are trying to do their job, and you never want to push it too far. You just feel it out and stick up for your teammate and then when enough is enough you kind of move on.\u201d<\/p>\n In banning Pierre Crinon for the rest of the Olympics, France’s hockey federation cited his “provocative behavior” after being ejected for fighting Tom Wilson, calling it a “clear violation of the Olympic spirit.” https:\/\/t.co\/Z1uorE8Ybz<\/a><\/p>\n