US beats Germany to stay unbeaten
at the Olympics, but Canada is the top seed
[February 16, 2026]
By STEPHEN WHYNO
MILAN (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk insists he and his U.S. teammates were
only focused on beating Germany in their preliminary round finale
and never worried about scoring enough goals to pass Canada for the
top seed at the Olympics.
“We never talked once about the top seed at all,” Tkachuk said.
“None of that seeding stuff. All that handles itself.”
It's handled now, after the U.S. defeated Germany 5-1 on Sunday
night behind two goals and an assist from captain Auston Matthews
and 23 saves from Connor Hellebuyck. The Americans finished group
play unbeaten to clinch the second seed in the knockout round.
“The confidence just continues to grow within our group,” Matthews
said. “Each game I think we’ve taken steps in the right direction of
where we want to grow our game going into the quarterfinals and it’s
good to see.”
Canada put such a beatdown on France, winning 10-2, that the U.S.
would have had to run up the score and beat Germany by 10 goals to
pass the tournament favorite. The North American rivals cannot meet
until the gold medal game.
They have to get there first. The U.S. is set to face the winner of
the qualification round game Tuesday between Sweden and Latvia,
while Canada plays Czechia or Denmark in the quarterfinals on
Wednesday.
Sweden is the only European team at the Olympics with a full roster
of NHL players, won two of its three preliminary round games and
only dropped to seventh because of a goal differential tiebreaker.
“A super-skilled team, a lot of guys we see throughout the NHL
season,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, whose goal was set up by
Matthews. "They have a lot of talent on that team, and we know last
year at the 4 Nations it was a hard game. I expect the same thing in
the quarters if that’s who we’re playing against.”
It could be quite the test for the U.S., which has only faced
Latvia, Denmark and Germany so far.
The Germany game was a chance for the Americans to fine-tune their
play before the tournament goes to single-elimination playoffs.
Matthew Tkachuk had a pair of assists, and Matthews, the captain
just as he was at the 4 Nations Face-Off a year ago, had his best
showing of the tournament.
Hellebuyck also looked good in his second start, allowing only a
goal to Tim Stützle. The U.S. got the goaltending it expected from
him after a shaky outing from Jeremy Swayman 24 hours earlier.
“I thought it was his best game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I just
think he was tracking pucks extremely well.”
Crosby, McDavid and Canada crush France
Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid each had a goal and two assists in
a clinical, businesslike 10-2 dismantling of France. Canada finished
round robin play undefeated, outscoring opponents by 17 goals over
three games.
“We did what we came to do," said McDavid, who leads all scorers in
Milan. "We came to win a hockey game and continue to get better.”
The blowout also included Tom Wilson fighting the player who
delivered a forearm to Nathan MacKinnon's face a couple of minutes
earlier. MacKinnon returned and Wilson was ejected, since fighting
is a game misconduct under international rules, but the already
popular teammate earned even more respect inside Canada's locker
room.
“He’s going to stick up for his guys,” forward Sam Bennett said.
“He’s a leader on this team and he’s a guy that’s going to protect
our guys and do whatever it takes for our team.”
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United States' Auston Matthews, right, scores his side's second goal
during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between the
United States and Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan,
Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
Macklin Celebrini, Canada's youngest player at 19,
scored on a penalty shot and on the power play against France to
give him four goals in three games. Wilson, picked by coach Jon
Cooper to ride shotgun on the top line on McDavid's right wing, also
had a goal, an assist and some big hits.
Mark Stone scored short-handed with 3.4 seconds
left in the first period and had two assists. Brandon Hagel had
Canada's ninth goal in the third before Celebrini scored the 10th.
Switzerland wins one for Kevin Fiala
Rallying around the absence of injured winger Kevin Fiala,
Switzerland beat Czechia 4-3 in overtime to give itself an easy path
to the quarterfinals.
Winning the preliminary round finale means captain Roman Josi's team
next faces winless host Italy in the qualification playoffs Tuesday.
“We knew it was a big game,” said Josi, the Nashville Predators
defenseman who scored Switzerland's first goal by banking the puck
off Radko Gudas' left skate and in. "Obviously a lot of up and downs
in that third period but found a way. It was a huge win against a
really good team.”
Former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dean Kukan scored the
overtime winner. In 172 NHL regular-season and playoff games, he had
just six goals and ranked this one top three in his career.
Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils and Pius Suter of the St. Louis
Blues also scored for Switzerland, and 38-year-old national team
goaltender Leonardo Genoni stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced.
Fiala, the Los Angeles Kings' second-leading scorer, had surgery to
repair what the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation only called a lower left
leg injury. He sent his teammates a video message from his hospital
bed, and coach Patrick Fischer hopes Fiala is back at the athletes'
village Monday.
“He’s still with us,” said Nico Hischer, who captains the Devils in
the NHL. "We’ll play for him. And obviously you hate to see injury
like that. He’s one of our best players, so it’s obviously a tough
loss for us. But we know he’s still engaged with us, and he’ll cheer
us on.”
Frederik Andersen steals a game for Denmark
Longtime NHL goaltender Frederik Andersen made 33 saves on 35 shots
to give Denmark its first victory in Milan, 4-2 over Latvia.
Winning by two on an empty-netter also put Denmark ahead in the
seeding, leaving Latvia to be 10th and face No. 7 Sweden in the
qualification round Tuesday.
“There’s no easy teams, but we wanted to give our best shot at
whatever comes next," Andersen said.
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