Necas powers Czechia into Olympic quarterfinal rematch with Canada

MILAN – Martin Necas brought his game and his confidence to the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

He’s the single biggest reason Team Czechia is still playing in the tournament and has another crack at Team Canada, this time in the quarterfinals at Santagiulia Arena on Wednesday (10:40 a.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, CBC, TSN).

Necas had a goal and an assist in Czechia’s 3-2 win against Team Denmark in the qualification round Tuesday. He leads the Czechs with seven points (three goals, four assists), all in the past three games after a 5-0 loss to Canada on Thursday.

“I love these moments,” said Necas, who has 62 points in 52 games with the Colorado Avalanche this season. “I love to play in front of a lot of people. I like to be in this position and finally the last couple of years it happened. I’m super happy for that and I look forward to these opportunities. Being on this stage after waiting so long it’s been great and I’m excited for the game tomorrow.”

Necas didn’t hide his confidence about that either, even if it might seem misguided considering Canada is the top-seeded team in the quarterfinals and outscored its three opponents in the preliminary round 20-3, including 5-0 against the Czechs.

Czechia lost in overtime to Team Switzerland in its final preliminary round game on Sunday and had to withstand a final furious push from Denmark to avoid overtime Tuesday.

But they did, earning the date with the Canadians.

“We let them win the first one because we knew we were not going to win two in a row against Canada,” Necas said with a smile. “We have to play smart. We can’t take the penalties we took today because those will definitely cost us the game. We’re going to give our best. This is maybe the biggest game of our lives and we’re excited.

“We’re ready to face the opportunity.”

Necas definitely looks ready after putting his array of skills on display Tuesday.

He gave Czechia a 1-0 lead at 5:39 of the second period by hammering a one-timer on the power play from the left face-off circle into the far top corner over goalie Frederik Andersen’s glove.

“That was a beautiful shot,” Czechia forward Tomas Hertl said. “He likes to shoot it on the glove side on the power play. It was a great shot. He’s carrying us.”

Andersen was impressed. He probably knew it was coming too, considering he faced Necas’ shot all the time in practice when they were teammates on the Carolina Hurricanes from 2021-25.

“Hell of a shot he got through there,” Andersen said. “Obviously, I felt like I was there, but maybe he respected me to overpush and he found that little space, so that was a heck of a shot.”

Necas helped set up David Kampf's goal that gave Czechia a 2-1 lead at 10:15 of the second period. He moved the puck left to right to Jan Rutta, who delivered it right to Kampf’s tape as the forward was camped out for the netfront redirection.

“He’s our best player, right,” Kampf said of Necas. “He’s playing his hockey. Everyone knows he’s a great player. He’s showing it in the NHL every game. We are happy for him that he can help us putting up some points. He’s just doing what he’s supposed to do.”

The Czechs obviously need him to keep doing it against Canada, with some help from others, including Hertl, who has no points in four games, and forward David Pastrnak, who had an assist against Denmark and has four points (one goals, three assists) in four games.

“Honestly, I haven’t played my best here yet,” Pastrnak said. “Just waiting. Hopefully I saved it for tomorrow.”

Necas hasn’t saved anything. He has embraced the Olympic spotlight and wants more of it, so it’s a good thing he gave himself and the Czechs another crack at Canada, and his Colorado teammates Nathan MacKinnon, Devon Toews and Cale Makar.

“He’s one of the reasons why we made it so far,” Czechia defenseman Radko Gudas said. “He’s flying around the ice. He’s keeping the puck on his stick. He’s dangerous every time he’s on the ice. So just happy to have him on our side and the confidence he plays with.”