Martin Necas leads Czechia past Denmark and into the Olympic men’s hockey quarterfinals, but next up is mighty Canada
Necas, a Colorado Avalanche winger, has been carrying the Czechs in Milan. His goal and assist against the Danes was his third straight multi-point game and gave him 3-4–7 for the tournament. The 7 points were tied for third overall in the tournament and one shy of the post-1993 Czech record for a single Olympics (Jiri Kucera‘s 8 in 1994).
“I love these moments,” said Necas, who largely flew under the radar before last January’s trade out of Carolina. “I like to play in front of a lot of people. I like to be in this position. Finally, the last couple of years, it happened. I’m super happy for that.”
Get Starting Point
Necas, who scored against Denmark by hammering a power-play one-timer from the left circle, is one of the NHL’s most gifted skaters. His pace-pushing will be necessary against the high-powered Canadians.
“His ability of skating and escaping in the tight spaces, he’s an incredible skater and he’s becoming a star year by year,” said Bruins star David Pastrnak.
Pastrnak, who fed captain Roman Cervenka for a rush goal that made it 3-1 in the second period, said he hasn’t reached top gear in Milan. He hopes both he and the Czechs have extra gas for Wednesday, which will be their fifth game in seven days.
Canada, which outscored teams, 20-3, in three group-stage games, will be on two days’ rest and is the clear favorite for gold. Some Canadian reporters have begun calling Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Macklin Celebrini the “Mach 3 line,” which is fitting for perhaps the most supersonic-skating trio ever seen on a frozen sheet.
Another measure of Canada’s strength: The second line of Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner, and Mark Stone would be the go-to trio for every other squad but the Americans.
“This might be the best team ever. So maybe let’s put the respect aside a little bit and try to take their game to them,” Pastrnak said of Canada. “Offensively, their power is incredible. And you know, just have to be a little stronger on pucks, play more in the O-zone, and be more confident.
“We have nothing to lose. So we’re going to leave it all out there. As a team we haven’t played our best yet, so hopefully we will save it for tomorrow.”
Marchand ready
It’s not clear that Canada needs Brad Marchand to advance in this tournament, but he’s ready if it does. After making his Olympic debut against the Czechs, the 37-year-old was scratched in his team’s previous two games. He missed most of the month leading up to the break with an undisclosed injury, sitting out 10 of 15 games for the Florida Panthers. Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said Marchand was available, but wouldn’t confirm that he’s in … Second-pair defenseman Josh Morrissey, injured in that Czechia game, returned to practice for Canada … At Tuesday’s practice, Cooper swapped MacKinnon for the hulking Tom Wilson. Call Celebrini-McDavid-Wilson the Big Macs … Marchand, who helped hold Pastrnak scoreless in Canada’s 5-0 preliminary-round win over the Czechs, reflected on the maturation of his former Bruins teammate after Tuesday’s practice. “He was always a great player, but he was streaky early on,” Marchand said. “He’d get really hot and then really cold. He works extremely hard at his game and he’s become one of the top five players in the game. He controls play every time he’s on the ice. His consistency level is at the top of the league.” … Team France was incensed that the French Ice Hockey Federation kicked Pierre Crinon, the player who fought Wilson on Sunday, out of the remainder of the Olympics. “It’s a joke,” teammate Antoine Keller said. “We need this player.” The IIHF opted not to discipline Crinon or Wilson beyond the standard game misconduct, but the FFHG released a statement citing Crinon’s “provocative behavior.” As he left the ice, Crinon held his hands to his ears and waved his arms. A fan threw a water bottle at him. An FFHG statement called Crinon’s actions “a clear violation of the Olympic spirit and also undermines the values of our sport.”
If Team USA women’s hockey doesn’t come out with the gold at the Winter Olympics is the tournament considered a bust?
Matt Porter can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on BlueSky at mattyports.bsky.social.
