Sidney Crosby had two goals and two assists and Macklin Celebrini scored once with two helpers to lead Canada past Slovakia 7-0 in world hockey championship action Saturday.
Crosby, Canada's 37-year-old captain, and the 18-year-old Celebrini combined twice in a three-goal second period for the Canadians at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, Sweden.
Nathan MacKinnon also scored twice, Brandon Montour and Tyson Foerster provided the rest of the offence, and Jordan Binnington made 14 saves to earn a shutout.
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"(Celebrini) holds on to the puck so well and plays with a lot of poise, and he gave me a nice tap in (goal) tonight," said Crosby. "I am hoping I can have as much poise as (Macklin) and set him up for more goals at some point, but it has been a lot of fun to play with him. He makes me work hard in practice and in games, so I need to keep up with him.”
Canada remained undefeated with 15 points from five regulation wins. Co-host Sweden, with 18 points from six regulation wins, leads the Group A standings.
“It was exciting because we were up 5-0 and we had three or four blocked shots in a row," said Canadian coach Dean Evason. "That just shows our commitment to track pucks and have good sticks regardless of the score, and those are things that we can build on.
" … It does not surprise me that Canadian hockey players are willing to buy in, and they are playing really hard for each other.”
Patrik Rybar gave up five goals on 32 shots for Slovakia, and Adam Huska entered the crease in the third period to stop 10 of 12.
Slovakia was fourth in Group A, four points behind Finland with two regulation wins, two regulation losses and one overtime defeat.
Canada next faces Finland on Monday before meeting Sweden on Tuesday to wrap up round-robin play.
"We are trying to build every day and every game, and it has been fun to be a part of the process. We are focusing on one day at a time, tightening up some things as we go and continuing to capitalize on our chances, which I think we did tonight," said Binnington, earning his second shutout in as many starts.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 17, 2025.
