US beats Germany to stay unbeaten at the Olympics, but Canada is the top seed

MILAN (AP) — Matthew Tkachuk insists he and his U.S. teammates were only focused on beating Germany in their preliminary round finale and never worried about scoring enough goals to pass Canada for the top seed at the Olympics.

“We never talked once about the top seed at all,” Tkachuk said. “None of that seeding stuff. All that handles itself.”

It's handled now, after the U.S. defeated Germany 5-1 on Sunday night behind two goals and an assist from captain Auston Matthews and 23 saves from Connor Hellebuyck. The Americans finished group play unbeaten to clinch the second seed in the knockout round.

“The confidence just continues to grow within our group,” Matthews said. “Each game I think we’ve taken steps in the right direction of where we want to grow our game going into the quarterfinals and it’s good to see.”

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. The North American rivals cannot meet until the gold medal game.

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 on 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.

“A super-skilled team, a lot of guys we see throughout the NHL season,” said defenseman Zach Werenski, whose goal was set up by Matthews. "They have a lot of talent on that team, and we know last year at the 4 Nations it was a hard game. I expect the same thing in the quarters if that’s who we’re playing against.”

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.

Hellebuyck also looked good in his second start, allowing only a goal to Tim Stützle. The U.S. got the goaltending it expected from him after a shaky outing from Jeremy Swayman 24 hours earlier.

“I thought it was his best game,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “I just think he was tracking pucks extremely well.”

Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid each had a goal and two assists in a clinical, businesslike 10-2 dismantling of France. Canada finished round robin play undefeated, outscoring opponents by 17 goals over three games.

“We did what we came to do," said McDavid, who leads all scorers in Milan. "We came to win a hockey game and continue to get better.”

The blowout also included Tom Wilson fighting the player who delivered a forearm to Nathan MacKinnon's face a couple of minutes earlier. MacKinnon returned and Wilson was ejected, since fighting is a game misconduct under international rules, but the already popular teammate earned even more respect inside Canada's locker room.

“He’s going to stick up for his guys,” forward Sam Bennett said. “He’s a leader on this team and he’s a guy that’s going to protect our guys and do whatever it takes for our team.”

Macklin Celebrini, Canada's youngest player at 19, scored on a penalty shot and on the power play against France to give him four goals in three games. Wilson, picked by coach Jon Cooper to ride shotgun on the top line on McDavid's right wing, also had a goal, an assist and some big hits.

Mark Stone scored short-handed with 3.4 seconds left in the first period and had two assists. Brandon Hagel had Canada's ninth goal in the third before Celebrini scored the 10th.

Rallying around the absence of injured winger Kevin Fiala, Switzerland beat Czechia 4-3 in overtime to give itself an easy path to the quarterfinals.

Winning the preliminary round finale means captain Roman Josi's team next faces winless host Italy in the qualification playoffs Tuesday.

“We knew it was a big game,” said Josi, the Nashville Predators defenseman who scored Switzerland's first goal by banking the puck off Radko Gudas' left skate and in. "Obviously a lot of up and downs in that third period but found a way. It was a huge win against a really good team.”

Former Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Dean Kukan scored the overtime winner. In 172 NHL regular-season and playoff games, he had just six goals and ranked this one top three in his career.

Timo Meier of the New Jersey Devils and Pius Suter of the St. Louis Blues also scored for Switzerland, and 38-year-old national team goaltender Leonardo Genoni stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced.

Fiala, the Los Angeles Kings' second-leading scorer, had surgery to repair what the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation only called a lower left leg injury. He sent his teammates a video message from his hospital bed, and coach Patrick Fischer hopes Fiala is back at the athletes' village Monday.

“He’s still with us,” said Nico Hischer, who captains the Devils in the NHL. "We’ll play for him. And obviously you hate to see injury like that. He’s one of our best players, so it’s obviously a tough loss for us. But we know he’s still engaged with us, and he’ll cheer us on.”

Longtime NHL goaltender Frederik Andersen made 33 saves on 35 shots to give Denmark its first victory in Milan, 4-2 over Latvia.

Winning by two on an empty-netter also put Denmark ahead in the seeding, leaving Latvia to be 10th and face No. 7 Sweden in the qualification round Tuesday.

“There’s no easy teams, but we wanted to give our best shot at whatever comes next," Andersen said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

United States' Auston Matthews, right, scores his side's second goal during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between the United States and Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

United States' Auston Matthews celebrates with his teammates after scoring his side's second goal during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between the United States and Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The United States Matt Boldy (12) celebrates after the team's second goal by Auston Matthews (34) during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between the United States and Germany at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (Alexander Nemenov/Pool Photo via AP)

Czechia's Tomas Hertl (48) is challenged by Switzerland's Damien Riat (9) during a preliminary round match of men's ice hockey between Switzerland and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Switzerland players celebrate their victory after a preliminary round match of men's ice hockey between Switzerland and Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Petr David Josek)

Canada's Macklin Celebrini (17) scores on a penalty shot in the second period against France's goalkeeper Julian Junca (33) during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between Canada and France at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Canada's Macklin Celebrini (17) scores a goal on a penalty shot in the second period against France's goalkeeper Julian Junca (33) during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between Canada and France at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

Canada's Mark Stone (61) celebrates after scoring a goal against France's goalkeeper Julian Junca (33) and France's Jules Boscq (27) in the first period during a preliminary round game of men's ice hockey between Canada and France at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrats are struggling to come up for air after outside groups flooded their first round of midterm primaries with campaign cash.

As the party fights to regain control of Congress, organizations affiliated with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence have dominated the airwaves, sometimes leaving candidates on the sidelines of their own campaigns.

Democratic pollster Zac McCrary said the primaries have “become proxy wars, and the candidates are almost afterthoughts in larger skirmishes."

In an effort to push back, the Democratic National Committee voted at its spring meeting in New Orleans to condemn the surge in spending.

Members who opposed the package of resolutions wanted language to condemn specific groups, such as AIPAC, which was founded to foster stronger relations between Israel and the U.S. The organization has become especially controversial during the war in Gaza and because of its aggressive campaign tactics.

The flood of money from a variety of groups has exacerbated tensions within the party. Candidates who lost have pointed their fingers at special interests, blaming them for derailing their campaigns. Others who are still in the running are courting voters by denouncing deep-pocketed outside groups. Even those who have benefited from the spending have expressed concern.

“It’s definitely a brave new world,” McCrary said.

“We’re not talking about doubling of campaign expenditures,” he added. “We’re talking about 10 times or 20 times more.”

Dan Sena, a former executive director at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said party organizations are no longer the only ones with the clout to push favored candidates.

“All that’s been completely smashed now,” Sena said. Even if Democrats regain control of the U.S. House, he warned that outside spending could damage the party in the long run.

Referring to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, he said, “You’re going to hand Jeffries a caucus that is divided.”

So far this cycle, outside money in U.S. House races has largely targeted districts particularly friendly to Democrats, meaning the primaries will likely determine who will win the general election in November. After a record number of House members retired this year, many of those seats opened up for the first time in years, drawing dozens of Democratic hopefuls.

In Illinois, for example, there was more than $125 million in outside spending across five open Democratic primaries. In all but one of those congressional races, the outside spending exceeded candidate spending.

While it's still early in the calendar, there are indicators that many more races could see big spending. Almost 40 seats have already seen more than $1 million in outside spending, according to Federal Election Commission filings.

In Illinois, the top three spenders in U.S. House races were groups affiliated with AIPAC, according to AdImpact, which tracks ad buys in political races, followed by the cryptocurrency-affiliated Fairshake.

A resolution presented to a subcommittee at the DNC specifically named AIPAC, but that one didn't pass. Instead, members voted for a separate resolution that “condemns the influence of unregulated dark money in Democratic primary elections.”

“We had various resolutions that focused on different industries and groups, and instead of going one-by-one, we passed a blanket repudiation,” DNC Chair Ken Martin said in a statement.

The latest DNC meeting marked another chapter in longstanding disputes between progressives and the party establishment.

Some progressives want the party to adopt official language that all Democratic presidential contenders oppose money from dark-money groups, or super PACs that aren't required to disclose their donors.

“It’s necessary that we actually have the party do something on this issue, not just say something,” said Larry Cohen, co-chair of Our Revolution, a progressive group founded by independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats.

The resolution passed at the DNC meeting in New Orleans is viewed by progressives as a step toward that goal. However, some Democrats warn against weakening their candidates when facing a Republican Party that's flush with cash.

“Provided that we don’t handcuff ourselves in the general elections — because if the Republicans are going to use dark money in general elections, we should be using our money in general elections, too — if you provide an even playing field, I think then that’s fine,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat. “But we just can’t be handcuffing ourselves in the general to lose races.”

DNC resolutions do not stop outside groups from surging funds into primary contests or general elections. But some Democrats believe the issue is core to the party's values.

“We should eliminate any super PAC in a Democratic primary. And I think every presidential candidate in 2028 should pledge that they will not have any super PAC spending in a Democratic primary,” said Rep. Ro Khanna, a progressive and possible Democratic presidential contender who co-chaired Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign.

“That should be a litmus test,” Khanna argued. “If you’re not willing to take that pledge, then you’re part of the problem.”

Brown reported from New York.

FILE - Ken Martin speaks at the 2026 California Democratic Party State Convention in San Francisco, Feb. 21, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)