MILAN, Feb 12 (Reuters) - Canada got off to a perfect start to their Olympic men's ice hockey campaign with a confident 5-0 win over the Czech Republic on Thursday, as Switzerland cruised past France 4-0.
The nine-time winners underlined their claim as favourites at the Milan Cortina Games with a group effort that saw 19-year-old prodigy Macklin Celebrini start the scoring on the second day of the men's tournament at Santagiulia Arena.
Goalie Jordan Binnington turned away 26 shots in the shutout, as Mark Stone scored off an assist from his Vegas Golden Knights team mate Mitch Marner and New York Islander Bo Horvat beat the Czech goalie in the second period.
The National Hockey League's goal-scoring leader Nathan MacKinnon and forward Nick Suzuki piled on in the third.
These Games mark the return of the world's best players from the NHL for the first time in 12 years, making it one of the prime high-profile events in Milan.
Canada next play Switzerland, while the Czech Republic play France in the Group A action on Friday.
SWISS MAKE STRONG START
Forward Damien Riat and defenceman J.J. Moser scored early in the first period of Switzerland's romp over France, while New Jersey Devils winger Timo Meier put the puck in twice in the third in front of a heavily Swiss crowd.
Riat tapped one in on the power play 55 seconds into the contest, sending the flag-waving Swiss fans into rapturous cheers. Moser beat two French defenders before sending a wrist shot into the net a little more than two minutes later.
Swiss winger Sven Andrighetto's attempt early in the second period ricocheted off the crossbar and French goaltender Antoine Keller made a superb effort with 14 stops to keep the score 2-0 heading into the second intermission.
Swiss captain Roman Josi wrapped around the net and put the puck into perfect position for Meier, who flipped it in easily midway through the third.
Meier shot the puck through Keller's pads from a sharp angle to score again about six minutes later.
Two Group C matches wrap up the day's programme, with the United States skating against Latvia and Germany facing off with Denmark.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in MilanEditing by Toby Davis and Bill Berkrot)
