USA hockey beat Germany 5-1 on Sunday to clinch the top spot in Group C in the 2026 Winter Olympics men’s hockey tournament.
As they did not beat Germany by 10 or more goals, the U.S. finishes second overall in the tournament standings, trailing Canada for the top seed.
Auston Matthews scored twice, and Zach Werenski, Brock Faber and Tage Thompson also scored for the Americans. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced.
What lies ahead for Team USA
The U.S. gets a bye to the quarter-finals on Wednesday. They will face the winner of No. 7 Sweden vs. No. 10 Latvia, played Tuesday in the qualifying round.
Should Sweden hold off Latvia, that sets up a quarter-final matchup featuring all of the New York Rangers’ representatives at the Games, as Mika Zibanejad plays for Sweden. Also interesting, should this scenario play out: a potential matchup between Elias Pettersson and J.T. Miller.
As Canada and the U.S., as expected, finished as the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds after the preliminary slate, the two nations can only face each other in the Gold Medal Game next Sunday, provided that they both make it.
The Americans’ style of play
Sunday’s game was a testament to what Matthew and Brady Tkachuk bring to the U.S. squad. Both players were thorns in the side of German and Edmonton Oilers superstar Leon Draisaitl. They’re both physical and play with some bite.
At one point, the broadcast picked up an all-time chirp from Matthew Tkachuk to Draisaitl:
“Always the bridesmaid, eh, Leon? Always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”
The Tkachuks slashed and chirped Draisaitl throughout Sunday’s game, and while this is the best German squad they’ve put together in years, they were no match for the Americans. Germany lacked the toughness to counter, and aside from Draisaitl and Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stützle, don’t even come close to the American talent level.
If there’s one player who can match the Tkachuks’ style, it’s Canada’s Tom Wilson, who recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick (a goal, an assist and a fight) in their 10-2 beatdown of France earlier Sunday.
Previewing the qualifying round
Tuesday’s qualifying matchups to determine the quarter-final slate are as follows:
- (8) Czechia v. (9) Denmark — winner will play Canada in quarter-finals
- (5) Switzerland v. (12) Italy — winner will play Finland
- (7) Sweden v. (10) Latvia — winner will play USA
- (6) Germany v. (11) France — winner will play Slovakia
Re-seeding will take place for the semi-finals on Friday, followed by the bronze medal game on Saturday, and the gold medal game on Sunday.
In the women’s tournament, the semi-final games will be played on Monday. The U.S. will face Sweden, and Canada will play Switzerland. The gold and bronze medal games will be played on Thursday.
