MILAN — Connor Hellebuyck expertly turned aside 23 of the 24 shots he confronted, while Auston Matthews netted two goals and skillfully created Zach Werenski’s score with an exemplary feed, as the U.S. national team overcame Germany 5-1 on Sunday evening. This victory allowed them to complete the Olympic pool stage undefeated and secure the second seed in the elimination phase.
Canada had delivered such a resounding defeat to France, triumphing 10-2, that the U.S. would have needed to amass a significantly higher score, beating Germany by a ten-goal margin, to surpass the tournament’s top contender. These continental adversaries are prevented from encountering each other before the championship final.
First, they must advance to that stage. The U.S. is slated to contend with the victor of Tuesday’s qualifying match between Sweden and Latvia, whereas Canada will play against Czechia or Denmark during the quarterfinal round on Wednesday.
Sweden stands as the sole European squad at the Olympics boasting a full lineup of National Hockey League athletes. They secured victories in two of their three initial round contests and merely fell to seventh place due to a goal difference tiebreaker.
This impending match could present a considerable challenge for the U.S., which has thus far solely competed against Latvia, Denmark, and Germany.
The encounter with Germany offered the Americans an opportunity to refine their performance before the competition transitions into one-and-done knockout rounds. Matthew Tkachuk contributed two assists, and Matthews, serving as captain just as he did in the 4 Nations Face-Off a year prior, delivered his most impressive display of the competition.
Hellebuyck also performed admirably in his subsequent appearance as starter, conceding just one goal to Tim Stutzle. The U.S. received the anticipated netminding from him after Jeremy Swayman’s unsteady performance the previous day.