Canada shuts out France 5-0 at World Championship

Nathan MacKinnon had an assist to continue his point streak.

How do you say surrender in French?

Team Canada cruised to an easy 5-0 win over Team France Tuesday at Avicii Arena to take the top spot in Group A. They share a 3-0 record with Sweden, but Canada’s 16 goals in three games stand alone. France remains winless with a 0-0-1-2 record.

Bo Horvat was named Player of the Game after a two-goal performance, while Pierre-Édouard Bellemare was named the most impressive for the losing squad.

Sidney Crosby scored his first goal of the tournament, Nathan MacKinnon registered an assist, and goaltender Jordan Binnington earned the shutout for Canada.

How It Happened

The Canadians played a disciplined game from the get-go, playing tic-tac-toe and moving the puck on the string. Canada scored first after the French turned over the puck in their own zone. Tyson Foerster fed Horvat in front, where he snapped it by Julian Junca at 6:32 for his third goal of the tournament.

Canada made it a two-goal advantage later in the frame when Kent Johnson found Will Cuylle off the rush.

The French had some opportunities in the second period but failed to capitalize. They forced a couple of turnovers and tried to break free down the ice, but their skaters were chased down by the speed of the Canadians, including Travis Sanheim, who forced Guillaume Leclerc to fire a weak backhand that completely missed the net.

Canada made it 3-0 late in the frame when Crosby scored on the power play. It was a beautiful sequence from the longtime Pittsburgh Penguins captain. He skated out of the corner, found the right side of the net exposed, and flicked a shot over Junca’s shoulder for the sweet insurance marker.

After Ryan O’Reilly was high-sticked in the face in the third period, Canada got another chance to add another tally on the power play. That happened when Crosby and MacKinnon teamed up to feed Horvat for his second goal of the game. Brandon Montour made it 5-0 when he one-timed a shot from the point and bounced off Junca and into the air, but unfortunately for the French, one of their defenders knocked it into his own net.

Next Game

The French fight again on Wednesday against Slovakia. Canada has a day off before taking on Austria on Thursday at 12:20 p.m. MT.

In Other News: MARTY PARTY

The reigning champion Czech Republic defeated Denmark 7-2 Monday night, led by Avalanche forward Martin Nečas. He scored twice in the game, which earned Nečas player of the game honors. David Pastrňák and Lukáš Sedlák also had a goal and two assists. The team is off until they face Hungary on Thursday.