Mark Stone makes honest Olympics admission after Canada’s 5-0 Czechia drubbing

Team Canada smoked Czechia 5-0 in the first game of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympics. After winning last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, it is Gold Medal or bust for the Canadians. With those expectations on the Olympic stage, Canada forward Mark Stone says he was nervous before the game.

“Of course, I was nervous. I think everyone was. Except maybe Sid and Dewey. Nervous just means you care,” Stone said, per Sportsnet’s Luke Fox. Stone says that Sidney Crosby and Drew Doughty, the only Canadians with Olympic experience, were the only ones not nervous.

Crosby and Doughty were both part of the Gold Medal Canada teams in 2010 and 2014, the last two Olympics with NHL players. Now that the pros are back in the Games, Canada is looking for its fourth Gold since 2002.

Stone scored a goal for Canada, giving them a 2-0 lead early in the second period. They dominated the first period, but could not score until Macklin Celebrini broke the tie with six seconds left. But they did not let Czechia hang around for long, with Stone and Bo Horvat scoring in the second period.

Canada is expected to sweep the Round Robin and earn a bye into the quarterfinals at the Olympics. They continue their tournament on Friday against Switzerland, and finish against France on Sunday. Canada has an elite group of forwards at the top of their lineup, which should make these games easy sledding for them.

But once the tougher matchups come in the elimination round, the goaltending will become a question. Jordan Binnington has been brutal this year for the St Louis Blues, but put up the shutout against Czechia in his Olympics debut. He earned the net after leading them to victory at the 4 Nations last year. And he is unlikely to give up the starting post after Thursday’s dominance.

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