THE OLYMPICS: WINTER GAMES AT ALBERTVILLE : Second-Seeded Canada Gets Scare From No. 11 France

When French forward Philippe Bozon stole the puck in the slot and surprised Canadian goaltender Sean Burke with a quick wrist shot 12 seconds into Saturday’s Olympic hockey tournament opener, the teams’ seedings quickly became irrelevant.

Burke thrust out his pad to repel Bozon’s shot, the first of 29 launched by the host team in a game much tougher than Canada had expected. France, seeded 11th in the 12-team field, outshot and outplayed the second-seeded Canadians, who left the Olympic Arena with a 3-2 victory only because of Burke’s acrobatics in the net.

“It’s a little bit of history for us, the way we played,” said Kjell Larsson, the Swede who coaches the French team. “The Canadian team is very lucky today. I cannot be too disappointed. For us, five or six goals’ difference is good. To come so close is unbelievable. Burke was the difference between the teams today.”

Canadian center Joe Juneau’s ice-skimming shot from above the left circle at 7:05 of the first period was matched at 17:11 by France’s Stephane Barin. Canada, which had only 19 shots all game, took a 3-1 lead during the second period when Dave Archibald scored at 50 seconds and Kent Manderville at 2:41. But the French stayed close with a goal when Barin scored off Burke’s glove 59 seconds into the third period.

“They’re an aggressive team, and they weren’t intimidated,” said Burke, who joined the Canadian Olympic team after reaching an impasse on a new contract with the New Jersey Devils. “You have to respect the way they played. In European hockey, you can never have a big enough lead.”

Canadian forward Eric Lindros, the top pick in last June’s NHL draft, was slightly woozy after a collision with a French player and did not play much during the third period. Canadian assistant Terry Crisp said Lindros was examined by team doctors, who found no serious problem.