The United States chipped away at the German defence, played patient hockey, and skated to a 5-1 win over Germany in the final game of the preliminary round in Santagiulia. 

Captain Auston Matthews had two goals and an assist for the winners.

The victory keeps the U.S. in first place of Group C and leaves the Germans in second. The game had equal importance for both teams in that the winner would claim top spot in Group C and earn a bye directly to the quarter-finals. 

"Right now, we get an extra day of rest, which is huge for our group," said Dylan Larkin. "I thought it was our best team game tonight. We talked about it before, how this is a big game for us, and the fun started tonight. I thought we battled and started to ramp it up."

Zach Werenski agreed. "I think today was our best 60 minutes for sure. We've had good moments throughout the tournament, good periods. But today was our most consistent, our stingiest defensively. Now it's just continuing to build for the next team."

"I liked our overall effort today," said Germany's Nico Sturm. "It was closer to the type of game we wanted to play. We're going to analyze what we did wrong also. But I think going into the next round, it's a really good feeling. Against those guys [the Americans] over there, you need to play probably as close to a perfect game as you can. I thought we hung in there pretty good. Had stretches where we showed some offence. At the end of the day, they're lethal with the chances that you give them. They usually convert on them."

The Americans had the stronger start, but Germany kept its game simple, using the “chip it out, chip it over, chip it in,” strategy of keeping the puck away from their goal and making simple plays when nothing else presented itself.

Nonetheless, the U.S. created plenty of scoring chances, only to be thwarted time and again by Maximillian Franzreb, who was rock solid between the pipes. The 29-year-old was making his Olympics and senior team debut with Germany and stopped Matt Boldy on an early chance in close. He made several key saves during a wild U.S. power play which the Germans killed off thanks to their goalie.

But in rope-a-dope style, the Germans let the U.S. attack and attack, and then went on the offense themselves. They had two sensational shits late and maintained possession in the American end for long stretches, but didn’t generate much in the way of quality chances.

The fans got whipped into a frenzy when Matthew Tkachuk knocked over Franzreb during one pressure situation, but it looked like he was pushed into the goalie by a German defender. In the final minute, Moritz Seider failed to clear the zone, and the Germans paid dearly for it. Matthews found Werenski to the back side of play, and Werenski ripped a shot into the open side with only 8.7 seconds remaining.

"Auston gave me some time there, and it definitely felt good to see it go in the net," he said. "I've dreamed of playing in an Olympics and to score a goal in one is pretty special."

For the Americans, it was a well-deserved 1-0 lead, and for the Germans it was a deflating way to head to the dressing room after a period of successful strategy.

Indeed, the momentum carried over to the start of the second. Even though Germany had an early power play, the best chance came from Dylan Larkin, who was robbed in tight by Franzreb. 

The U.S. went up 2-0 at 3:25 on a messy goal. Franzreb stopped the first shot, but Auston Matthews got enough of the puck to nudge it behind the goalie. The Germans had some good moments in the American end, but Hellebuyck settled down and saw most every shot clearly. 

They added to their lead with a late goal that was as lucky for them as it was unlucky for the Germans. Brock Faber threw a high shot at the goal and Franzreb reached up to glove it. He flubbed it, and the puck went off his glove and in, making it 3-0.

The U.S. added two more goals in the third. Tage Thompson took a corner pass from Larkin and blasted a long, high shot that Franzreb might have had. Four minutes later, Jake Sanderson made a nice pass to Matthews cutting through the slot, and he tipped it in at 6:46 to make it a 5-0 game.

Tim Stutzle ended Hellebuyck's shutout bid at 11:22, getting the puck in the slot, waiting patiently, and then firing a shot over the goalie's glove.