"MILAN -- Auston Matthews scored twice and set up Zach Werenski's goal with a textbook pass, Connor Hellebuyck stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced and the U.S. defeated Germany 5-1 on Sunday night to finish group play at the Olympics unbeaten and clinch the second seed in the knockout round. 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."
"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 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."
"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."
Auston Matthews scored twice, assisted Zach Werenski’s goal, and Matthew Tkachuk added two assists as the U.S. defeated Germany 5-1 to finish Olympic group play unbeaten and secure the second seed. Connor Hellebuyck stopped 23 of 24 shots, allowing only Tim Stutzle’s goal, while Jeremy Swayman had a shaky outing the previous day. Canada’s 10-2 win over France made it impossible for the U.S. to overtake Canada, leaving the North American rivals unable to meet before a potential gold-medal game. The U.S. will face the winner of Sweden vs. Latvia in a quarterfinal matchup.
Read at ESPN.com
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