MILAN — Matthew Tkachuk emphasizes that he and his U.S. teammates concentrated solely on defeating Germany in their preliminary round finale, without any concerns about needing to score enough goals to surpass Canada for the top seed in the Olympics.
“We didn’t mention the top seed even once,” Tkachuk stated. “None of that seeding business. It all sorts itself out.”
And it has, after the U.S. triumphed over Germany 5-1 on Sunday, aided by two goals and an assist from captain Auston Matthews, alongside 23 saves from Connor Hellebuyck. The Americans concluded group play without a loss, securing the second seed for the knockout stage.
“The confidence keeps building within our group,” Matthews remarked. “With every game, I believe we’ve made progress in the direction we want to take our game as we approach the quarterfinals, and it’s reassuring to witness.”
Canada delivered a dominating performance against France, winning 10-2, which meant the U.S. would have needed to defeat Germany by 10 goals to overtake the tournament favorites. The North American rivals can only meet in the gold medal game.
First, they must advance. The U.S. is scheduled to face the winner of the qualification match on Tuesday between Sweden and Latvia, while Canada takes on Czechia or Denmark in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
Sweden, the sole European team in the Olympics with a full lineup of NHL players, won two of its three preliminary round matches and dropped to seventh place due to a goal differential tiebreaker.
“A super-skilled team, featuring many players we encounter during the NHL season,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, whose goal was assisted by Matthews. “They possess a lot of talent, and we remember how tough last year’s 4 Nations game was. I’m anticipating a similar challenge in the quarters if they’re our opponents.”
This could pose quite a challenge for the U.S., which has faced Latvia, Denmark, and Germany so far.
The match against Germany provided the Americans an opportunity to fine-tune their performance before transitioning to single-elimination playoffs. Tkachuk recorded a pair of assists, and Matthews, serving as captain once again as he did during the 4 Nations Face-Off last year, had his best tournament performance.
Hellebuyck also impressed in his second start, conceding only to Tim Stutzle. The U.S. received the expected goaltending from him after Jeremy Swayman’s shaky performance 24 hours prior.
“I believed it was his best showing,” coach Mike Sullivan commented. “I think he tracked the pucks exceptionally well.”
