Team USA essentially clinched a top spot in the playoff round, winning 5-1 against Germany in their last game of the preliminaries.
It was complete domination from puck drop. Columbus Blue Jackets’ defenseman Zach Werenski struck first, scoring the first goal of the game at 19:51 in the first period. In the second, Auston Matthews knocked one in on the power play at 3:25, and Brock Faber scored his first goal of the Olympics at 17:35.
In the third, the Americans continued their run of dominance. Tage Thompson scored at 1:55, while Auston Matthews scored his second goal at 6:46. Germany finally woke up, with Tim Stutzle scoring to make it 5-1, but it was too little, too late.
Team USA Is the Favorite to Beat Team Canada
Team Canada’s dominance in the preliminaries probably distracts people from how well-rounded Team USA has been. They’ve scored 16 goals and allowed just five in their three preliminary games.
There were moments where they’ve played opponents close, such as the first period vs. Latvia and the first two periods vs. Denmark, but they’ve thoroughly closed out all of their opponents. Their fourth line of Brock Nelson, J.T. Miller, and Jack Hughes has been electric, and the first pairing of Zach Werenski and Quinn Hughes has been awesome.
The only question is whether or not Connor Hellebuyck can be the best goaltender in the tournament. He’s had struggles in international play, getting outplayed by Canada’s Jordan Binnington in last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off. If he can live up to the task, Team USA should have a better shot at avoiding an upset and beating Canada.
Germany’s Loss to Latvia Stings Even More
Germany could’ve been a much higher seed in the tournament. They have a high amount of star NHL talent, with Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stutzle, Moritz Seider, and JJ Peterka. If they had held on to their 2-1 first period lead vs. Latvia, they could’ve had six points and finished with a higher seed in the playoffs.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Latvia’s 4-3 Win Over Germany
Unfortunately, Germany blew the lead and lost a heartbreaker 4-3, and they had over two minutes with an extra attacker and couldn’t score. Now they sit at just three points, and while they finished second in Group C, they could’ve contended for one of the top four spots against Team USA.
Auston Matthews Is Living Up to the Hype
There were a lot of doubts over whether or not Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews would perform well in the Olympics. He’s slowly been fading from the goal-scoring form he showed in the 2023-24 season, with 59 goals in 118 games in the past two seasons after getting 69 in 81 games during the 2023-24 season.
So far, though, Matthews has been leading the charge for Team USA. He has three goals and two assists, which lead the team and is fifth in the Olympics. He’s appeared to reclaim his goal-scoring prowess.
All eyes will be on Matthews in the playoffs, where he will look to shed his big-game struggles.
Results
The USA will get a first-round bye due to tying Canada with nine points in the preliminaries. Meanwhile, Germany faces France in the Qualifiers on Feb. 17.
