When the men's Olympic hockey tournament began last week, Team Germany, with Senators star Tim Stutzle and fellow NHL elites like Leon Draisaitl and Mo Seider, was seen as a team that might be involved in an upset or two. This wasn't what they had in mind. Team Latvia, with its loud, well-travelled fan base hollering and singing throughout, upset the Germans 4-3 on Saturday. The Germans grabbed leads of 1-0 and 2-1, but Latvia wouldn't go away, storming back with the next three goals to take control. The Hockey News' Steve Warne and Gregg Kennedy discuss the Olympic hockey tournament format and how it limits the number of games where it's truly best on best. Stutzle scored late to make it close, but Latvia shut the door in the final couple of minutes to preserve the win. As the world rankings go, Latvia is 10th, and Germany is 8th, so it might not seem like a massive upset. But Latvia doesn't have anything close to the NHL star power that Germany brings to the top of its lineup Stutzle, as he's done many times this season in Ottawa, focused on the process and tried to find the positives in his team's performance. "I mean, we had a lot of chances," Stutzle told NHL.com. "I think we were the better team today. Still, we've got a lot to clean up. Can't give them so many grade As (scoring opportunities)." That philosophy is fine for an 82-game regular season when there are plenty of second chances. But in a short tournament like this? Not so much. None of this bodes well for Stutzle and the Germans, who now have to face Team USA on Sunday afternoon (3:10 pm ET, CBC. The Americans pounded Latvia 5-1 on Thursday, and it would have been 7-1 if not for two other goals being overturned. As expected, the Germans leaned heavily on their high-end stars on Saturday, trotting their big three for almost half the game. Draisaitl 28:30 Stutzle 26:14 Seider 27:41 Now, less than 24 hours later, they have to face the Americans, who are incredibly deep and fast. Yes, they played on Saturday as well, but they were able to roll all four lines in a tougher-than-expected 6-3 victory over Denmark. For example, while Stutzle played 26:14, his Sens teammate, Brady Tkachuk, played just 15:28 in his game. The Americans are better, deeper, and fresher, and because of the format, they'll try to run up the score. USA-Germany will be the final game of the preliminary round, so the Americans will know exactly what goal differential they'll need to catch Canada, which had a two-goal lead entering Sunday's play. So this probably won't go well for Stutzle and company, who not only won't get a bye to the quarterfinals, but it's looking like they'll end up with a tougher matchup in the sudden-death Qualification Playoff round. Steve Warne The Hockey News
