Canada Crushes Norway On Opening Day Of Olympic Men's Hockey, 8-0

Canada Defeats Norway 8-0 In First Game Of Tournament For Both Teams

Canada’s first test in the Olympics should be a resounding passing grade. Their 8-0 win over Norway should give some relief to fans and Canadians across Canada.

Dany Heatley and Jarome Iginla led the scoring for the Canadians with two goals a piece while Mike Richards, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, and Rick Nash all scored one goal a piece. Sidney Crosby led all players with three points, all assists.

Canada outshot Norway 42-15 while coverting on two of six powerplays. Five players had four shots a piece; Iginla, Heatley, Eric Staal, Perry, and Shea Weber.

For Norway, Pal Grotnes was the star for the Norwegians at least for the first period, stopping all 14 shots in the first period and allowed four goals on 28 shots before being pulled in the third period.

Canada will face Switzerland on Thursday while Norway will face off against the United States.

Olympic Men's Hockey: Canada Leading 3-0 After Forty Minutes Of Play

Jarome Iginla, Dany Heatley, and Mike Richards have all scored for Canada to give them a 3-0 lead after the end of the second period. Canada is outshooting the Norwegians 30-10, and held a 16-6 advantage in the second period.

Norwegian goalie Pal Grotnes has to be Norway’s top player, making 27 saves through the first two periods. Roberto Luongo has had a fairly easy night so far, making all 10 saves. Heatley and Jonathan Towes are leading the Canadians in shots on goal with three a piece.

Expect the Canadians to continue to keep their foot on the gas pedal in the third period as the team tries to build chemistry and figure out how their teammates are going to play.

Jarome Iginla And Dany Heatley Score Canada's First Two Goals

Jarome Iginla and Dany Heatley have scored in the second period to give Canada a 2-0 lead. Iginla’s goal came on the powerplay at the 4:27 mark while Heatley scored three minutes later.

Canada can breathe now, they scored their first goal.

Canada And Norway Scoreless After One Period Of Play

Canada and Norway have skated a scoreless first period with the first round robin game for both teams. The Canadians are getting their fair share of chances though, outshooting the Norwegians 14-4 and have had two powerplays in which they didn’t capitalize on.

Olympic Men's Hockey, Day 1: Canada's Quest For Gold Starts Tonight Against Norway

7:30 PM ET / 4:30 PM PT : Canada vs Norway in Group A action

Broadcast details: Live coverage begins at 8 PM ET / 5 PM PT on CNBC

The Canadians are on home soil and have the pressure of an entire nation on their backs. What better opponent for a team full of NHL super stars to start their Olympic schedule off against then Norway, who has exactly zero NHL players on their roster?

Well, to be fair, two weeks ago Team Norway did have an NHLer on their roster. Ole-Kristian Tollefsen was demoted to Grand Rapids of the AHL after being traded from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Detroit Red Wings. No NHLers for you, Norway.

Roberto Luongo will get the nod in goal for Team Canada, as coach Mike Babcock has chosen to go with the Vancouver Canuck in his home rink for the first game of the tournament. Martin Brodeur will start on Thursday and both games will go into consideration when determining a starter for Sunday's game against the United States.