NOTES

Eric Lindros justified his advance publicity by scoring two goals and adding two assists Monday, as Canada overcame a sluggish first period to defeat Switzerland, 6-1, and tie the Unified Team and Czechoslovakia for the Group A lead in the Olympic hockey tournament.

“We had a lot of penalty problems in the first period, but once we solved that, we came out in the second period and got it going,” said Lindros, who joined Team Canada rather than play for the Quebec Nordiques, who chose him first overall in last June’s NHL draft. “For me, it was good to get that first (goal). You’ve got to build somewhere. We started with France, and the ball’s rolling.”

Center Joe Juneau set up Lindros’ first goal, at 3:18 of the opening period, with a perfect pass to the slot. Juneau also scored twice in Canada’s four-goal second period. “Joey really set me up for an easy play,” said Lindros, who scored Canada’s third goal with a blast from the left wing at 5:47 of the second period. “You just go to the net and Joey’s going to get you the puck. It’s easy playing with a player of his caliber.”

Goaltender Sean Burke was beaten bettered only once, on a 25-foot shot from the left side by Jorge Eberle 47 seconds into the final period.

Juneau, the Boston Bruins’ third-round pick in the 1988 draft, improved his NHL prospects by leading Team Canada in scoring during pre-Olympic play with 20 goals and 69 points in 60 games. He has also has attracted lucrative offers from four teams in Switzerland and Italy. Told that Juneau was now the object of a bidding war, Bruin General Manager Harry Sinden said: “He’d better practice his yodeling.”