Ice hockey-Canada blank Czechs, US overpower Latvia, wins for Swiss and Germany

MILAN, Feb 12 : Canada got the perfect start to their Olympic men's ice hockey campaign with a confident 5-0 win over the Czech Republic on Thursday, the United States saw off Latvia 5-1, as Germany beat Denmark 3-1 and 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 teammate 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.

US OVERCOME LATVIAN CHALLENGE

The U.S. shook off the early jitters to down Latvia 5-1 in their Group C opener, where forward Brock Nelson scored twice and the Tkachuk brothers connected on a goal in the first period, while captain Auston Matthews and forward Tage Thompson added scores.

The Americans had two goals called off in a chaotic first period, where Matthew Tkachuk assisted his younger brother, Brady, on the opening score and Latvian forward Renars Krastenbergs levelled it in the eighth minute.

Nelson put the United States back in front midway through the second period and scored another after Thompson's backhand trickery in the crease. A stone-faced