Canada continued their strong start to the 2026 IIHF World Championship, defeating Italy by a 6-0 scoreline in their second preliminary round game of the tournament.
Edmonton Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard recorded his first point of the tournament, scoring a power play goal shortly before the midway mark of the third period. His goal was assisted by San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini and Winnipeg Jets forward Gabriel Vilardi.
Former Oiler Dylan Holloway would also record his first multi-point game of the World Championship. He would open the scoring for Canada with almost 10 minutes gone in the opening frame, with the assists coming from Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares and Nashville Predators forward Ryan O'Reilly. Holloway also recorded a secondary assist on Canada's sixth goal of the game, scored by O'Reilly with a primary assist from Tavares.
Two of the other three goals were scored by Celebrini. The first came with just over three minutes to go in the first period from assists by Philadelphia Flyers forward Porter Martone and Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse. His second of the game came with over two minutes gone in the second, with assists from Ottawa Senators forward Dylan Cozens and Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby; the latter's secondary assist acted as his first point at this edition of the World Championship.
Boston Bruins forward Fraser Minten was the fifth different goalscorer for Canada on Saturday. His goal came just one minute after Holloway's ice breaker; the score was assisted by former Oiler/New Jersey Devils forward Connor Brown and Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Denton Mateychuk.
Relevant facts and statistics
Not only did Canada outshoot Italy by a 41-19 margin, but they also recorded double-digit shot totals in each of the three periods of play.
Both Celebrini and Calgary Flames defenseman Zach Whitecloud recorded five shots on goal. Five additional Canadian skaters recorded at least three shots on goal, while only one Italian player tallied the same number of shots on goal.
Former Oilers goaltender Cam Talbot recorded a 19-save shutout against Italy, while EHC Kloten netminder Davide Fadani recorded 35 saves on 41 shots faced for a 0.854 save percentage.
What's next?
After playing on each of the first two matchdays of the tournament, Canada will have Sunday off. On Monday, they'll take on a Denmark side that lost their opening game of the tournament by a 4-1 scoreline.
Italy will return to play on Sunday to take on a Slovakia side that beat Norway 2-1 in their tournament opener on Saturday.
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