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Canada prevailed physically and on the scoreboard to kick off their Olympic tournament in Beijing with a 5-1 win on Thursday.

The Canadians may have still had the loss suffered in the semi-finals of the last Olympic tournament in PyeongChang against Germany, who finished with silver around their necks. Eric O’Dell set the tone for the game with a hard-hitting check against Marco Nowak and the puck then ended up on Alex Grant’s stick. His shot beat German goalkeeper Mathias Niederberger for his team’s first goal in the competition.

Midway through the first period, the Canadians added to their lead. O’Dell returned to the top of the face-off circle at Ben Street and his shot rattled the ropes. Just 22 seconds later, Daniel Winnik gave his team a three-goal lead. On the streak, Adam Cracknell and David Desharnais got assists.

Mark Barberio made a turnover in his territory in the middle period. His punt attempt through the center of the zone was intercepted and Tobias Rieder reduced the Canadians’ lead to two goals.

Canada captain Eric Staal calmed things down. He battled hard to win his face-off and O’Dell spotted Maxim Noreau on point. He unleashed a powerful cannonball to restore his team’s three-goal lead.

Canada added to their comfortable lead in the third period when Jordan Weal flashed the red light.

After this clash, Canada will face the United States before closing its Group A round robin with a duel against China. The Americans also defeated the Chinese 8-0 in the other game of the group. In 2018, the Canadians concluded the Olympic tournament with a bronze medal.

In matches in Group C, Finland served a 6-2 correction against Slovakia. Forward Sakari Manninen recorded a hat trick.

Sweden, for their part, struggled against Latvia, but they held on to win 3-2. Lucas Wallmark distinguished himself with two goals.