Auston Matthews [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/maple-leafs-matthews-picks-up-key-assist-helps-team-usa-remain-undefeated-at-2026-olympics] and the United States might get one of the toughest opponents when they roll into the quarterfinals at the Winter Olympics in a couple of days. The USA defeated Germany 5-1 in their final preliminary game of the tournament. The win secured Team USA a ticket into the quarterfinals as the second seed, behind only Canada due to their plus-17 goal differential (the US sat at plus-11). The Toronto Maple Leafs [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs]' captain scored two of the USA's five goals and recorded an assist in Sunday's win. Matthews assisted on the first goal of the game, a wrister from the right faceoff dot in Germany's end by Zach Werenski, to put the United States ahead late in the first period. Matthews' first goal — which turned out to be the game-winner — came in the second period, after he batted home a rebound from a Quinn Hughes shot. His second goal was a deflection in front, off a great shot-pass from Jake Sanderson, to put Team USA up 5-1 in the third period. With how they're seeded, the United States is set to face the winner of Sweden (seventh seed) vs. Latvia (10th seed), which'll take place on Tuesday. MATTHEWS IS DOING JUST FINE AT THE OLYMPICS Entering these games, Maple Leafs (and Team USA) fans were keen to see how Matthews would perform in best-on-best action after dealing with an injury throughout the 4 Nations Face-Off last February. It took him a little time to ramp up early in this season. But since Jan. 1, Matthews has scored 11 goals, tying him for the second-most [https://www.nhl.com/stats/skaters?reportType=game&dateFrom=2026-01-01&dateTo=2026-02-15&gameType=2&sort=goals&page=0&pageSize=50] in the NHL during that timeframe. Matthews continued that pace through the Olympics, even as some questioned if he's still truly one of the NHL's elite players. Despite not using his patented wrist shot as much as he'd like, Matthews is scoring goals in unique ways — his two against Germany confirm that. At 6-foot-3, 215 pounds, his puck strength has been on display throughout most games thus far in the tournament. Matthews hasn't been the flashiest of players for the US. But he leads the team in goals [https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/olympic-m/skaters/goalscoringleaders#statistics] (3) and points [https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/olympic-m/skaters/scoringleaders#statistics] (5) through three preliminary games against Latvia, Denmark, and Germany. "He’s been great all tournament," Jake Guentzel of the Tampa Bay Lightning told The Athletic's Mark Lazerus [https://x.com/MarkLazerus/status/2023170864670208274?s=20] after Sunday's win over Germany. "You guys put a lot of heat on him for no reason. He’s just an unbelievable player and he plays in all situations." A new test awaits Matthews and Team USA, though. From here on out, it won't be easy. They've got the winner of Sweden vs. Latvia [https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2026/olympic-m/schedule]. Sweden, in its own right, is one of the strongest teams at the Olympics. It also possesses his Maple Leafs teammate, William Nylander [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/how-maple-leafs-william-nylander-and-oliver-ekman-larsson-fared-in-sweden-s-win-over-slovakia-at-olympics]. Latvia is a group that put up a strong fight despite losing 5-1 to the US in their first game of the tournament. They might not have the firepower Sweden has, but they can win with their work ethic. Whomever the USA gets will be a challenge. And it'll be up to Matthews, the team's captain, to lead them through the battle, which all goes down on Wednesday. "He was awesome," Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers [https://x.com/MarkLazerus/status/2023170781425885212] told Lazerus of Matthews, following his three-point game against Germany. "He’s our captain, we’re following his lead."
