The United States continued its undefeated run through the preliminary round of the 2026 Winter Olympic men’s ice hockey tournament, winning 5-1 over Germany.
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The victory gives the U.S. nine points, the top spot in Group C, and the second overall seed, which clinches a place in the quarterfinals. The team will square off against the winner of Sweden-Latvia, which will be played Tuesday.
Captain Auston Matthews led the way in this win with two goals, and he was joined in the goal-scoring club by Tage Thompson, Brock Faber and Zach Werenski.
Here are the key lessons learned in this final preliminary game for the U.S., as well as an overall team grade, player of the game and a big question as the knockout round looms Wednesday.
Takeaway 1: Almost no points of concern
Team USA’s 3-0 run through Group C was exactly what it needed to be: efficient, confidence-building and successful. There were no stumbles. There were times when palms were moist, but there was no flop sweat. Outside of Jeremy Swayman’s long-distance goal allowed against Denmark, there were no harbingers of potential doom. These were three games that showed GM Bill Guerin has built a medal-worthy roster — although, admittedly, in the most manageable group in the men’s tournament.
Every line contributed offensively, most promisingly the fourth one: New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes went from looking lost on the wing at the 4 Nations Face-Off to looking like the second coming of Patrick Kane in three games skating next to Brock Nelson. Speaking of 4 Nations: Tage Thompson is still playing like a man with a chip on his shoulder. There aren’t many new additions to Guerin’s roster, but Thompson has been a marked improvement to the offense.
IT’S TAGE THOMPSON TIME! Team USA adds another. ⚡️#WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/jf5rQkPrCK
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 15, 2026
The defense has looked as deep and stout as expected. Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski have been difference-makers in every zone. They haven’t needed Jaccob Slavin to be Jaccob Slavin quite yet. That comes later. Connor Hellebuyck was a steadying presence against Latvia and Germany, with the pucks sticking to him. He didn’t need to steal a game. Again, that comes later.
Watching the U.S. and Canada in the first round, the Americans didn’t look like the steamroller the Canadians did. That’s fine. The U.S. has built a strong foundation for the elimination round and a potential rematch with the Canadians with Olympic gold at stake.
Takeaway 2: OK, one point of concern — the starts
By the time they hit the ice against Germany, Team USA knew the math. Canada dispatched France by a score of 10-2. To secure the first overall seed in the elimination round, the U.S. would not only have to defeat the Germans but also win the game by 10 goals.
With that in mind, it’s no surprise the Americans didn’t come out in the first period like they were shot from a cannon. They had some good chances, including on a power play, but Germany played them to a stalemate in front of goaltender Maximilian Franzreb of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. That is until the final nine seconds of the first period, when Werenski broke the stalemate and gave the USA a sigh-of-relief lead, scoring on an assist from Matthews.
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If there has been one common theme in Group C play, it’s the U.S. allowing inferior opponents too much oxygen in the opening 20 minutes. Latvia ended the first period in a 1-1 tie. Denmark had a 2-1 lead, thanks to a center-ice goal against Swayman. Germany nearly ended the first frame in a 0-0 score before Matthews and Werenski synced up.
Now, the good news in those previous games was that the Americans went on to outscore their foes 9-1, wearing them down and eventually overwhelming them. The same thing happened against the Germans, as second-period goals by Matthews and Faber put the game out of reach. Overall, the Americans outscored their three opponents 13-2 after the first.
But they’re playing with fire with this trend ahead of meeting better teams in the elimination round — with no margin for error.
Takeaway 3: The Tkachuks were Tkachukin’
It’s hard not to look ahead if you’re Team USA, what with their pursuit of your first gold medal since the Miracle on Ice and a chance to face your tormentors from the north again. Players such as Matthew and Brady Tkachuk can provide that spark when the team is in cruise control.
Against Germany, Brady Tkachuk was throwing the body around from the start. Matthew Tkachuk helped create goals by Matthews and Faber. But in the most Tkachukian moment, there was Matthew Tkachuk chirping Germany star Leon Draisaitl at the bench: “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.” Please recall Tkachuk’s Florida Panthers defeated Draisaitl’s Edmonton Oilers in consecutive seasons in the Stanley Cup Final. Savage.
Most importantly, the brothers survived a grilling from the most grizzled journalist covering the 2026 Winter Olympics: Elmo.
It’s GAME-ON for the Tkachuk Brothers and @Elmo at the #WinterOlympics! 🏒😂❤️ pic.twitter.com/8WqESzYQsD
— Sesame Street (@sesamestreet) February 15, 2026
This is exactly what Matthews and his team needed to see before the elimination round. His perfectly placed cross-ice saucer pass set up Werenski’s critical late-period goal in the first — a gut punch to Germany from which it never recovered. But as good as Matthews is as a playmaker, Team USA doesn’t want another effort like 4 Nations where “Papi” had three assists but zero goals. They need him to find the back of the net, and he did that three times in group play, including twice against Germany.
Matthews scored on the power play in the second period by battling in front of the crease and earning a high-danger goal. He was also near the blue paint in the third period when Jake Sanderson’s shot rattled around and before Matthews tucked it into the net.
A two-piece combo for Auston Matthews. ✌️#WinterOlympics pic.twitter.com/vkQzJrWfJb
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) February 15, 2026
Matthews has taken a slew of criticism heading into the tournament, from those who believed he has fallen behind Jack Eichel on the depth chart to those who thought he didn’t deserve the captaincy again after 4 Nations. His performance against Germany wasn’t dominating. It wasn’t the sole reason the Americans won. But as his line with Matt Boldy and Jake Guentzel is getting better with each shift, and this was an important building-block game for Matthews.
Big question for the next round: Can they get past Sweden?
Team USA won Group C and enters the medal round as the No. 2 seed in the men’s hockey tournament. What did that earn the squad? A potential quarterfinal game against Sweden, the consensus pick as the third-best team in Milan entering the tournament.
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Because of the chaos in Group B — where Slovakia continued its rise as a hockey power by taking first place — Sweden was seeded seventh overall. It will play pesky Latvia in Tuesday’s quarterfinal game with the winner taking on Team USA in the quarterfinal.
The Swedes have a defense corps that can be in the conversation with the Americans’ as far as depth. They have excellent skill players and veterans who will be unfazed by Team USA’s hype. Though their goaltending hasn’t been among the best in the tournament, Jacob Markstrom and Filip Gustavsson both can shut the door for three periods.
Canadian fans took some glee in noting how rocky the road could be for Team USA en route to the gold medal game. The Americans will have to earn it, provided Sweden gets past Latvia. Please recall Italy gave the Tre Kronor a scare.
Overall team grade: A-
A solid effort in a game where the only real objectives were to win the group and stay healthy for the medal round.
The first period was underwhelming. The Americans were very solid the rest of the way, save for one defensive lapse that Hellebuyck couldn’t bail them out from — and, obviously, it’s his crease going forward. This was a solid win over better competition than they saw in the previous two group games, and in front of a partisan crowd.
It wasn’t one where it seemed as if every part of the machine was cranked up, but then again it didn’t need to be. As defenseman Faber said after the game on NBC: “There are still things we need to clean up. Now it gets real.”
