Draisaitl has 3 points, Team Germany eases past France to advance at Olympics

MILAN -- Leon Draisaitl is already the greatest Germany-born hockey player ever.

He has 1,036 points with the Edmonton Oilers and is only 30 years old. He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL most valuable player in 2020 and led the League with 52 goals last season.

On Tuesday, he helped Team Germany reach the quarterfinals of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, getting a goal and two assists in a 5-1 win against Team France at Santaguilia Arena.

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: France-Germany

Germany will face Team Slovakia on Wednesday (6:10 a.m. ET; Peacock, CBC Gem, SN, RDS) with a trip to the semifinals and chance to play for a medal on the line.

When asked about what a medal would mean to his legacy, Draisaitl said that is not his focus.

“I'm thinking about our team,” Draisaitl said. “I'm thinking about wanting to compete for a medal with our group. If the legacy filters into that, then sure, I'll take it. But you know, this is a special time. We’ve got a great opportunity.”

Draisaitl opened the scoring with a power-play goal in the first period and assisted on goals by Oilers prospect Josh Josh Samanski and Germany veteran Nico Sturm. Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves, and Tim Stutzle had two assists.

WATCH: Men's Hockey Highlights from the Olympic Winter Games

“Definitely a step in the right direction today,” said Draisaitl, who led all skaters with 24:07 of ice time. “It's going to get harder; the tournament is getting smaller, and it's getting harder each and every round, so teams are going to get better. We know that. We're aware of that.

“We’ve got a big task ahead of us tomorrow, so today was a good step. And, yeah, well, we'll get ready for tomorrow.”

Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored for France, which went without a win in four games here. Antoine Keller made 21 saves in relief of Julian Junca, who allowed three goals on 13 shots in the first period.

“We were playing against a good team. We were too defensive,” Bellemare said. “I think we played well, we were even better at times. But we made mistakes and turnovers, myself included. I messed up and boom, the puck was in the net.

“France isn't among the top 12 hockey nations. We came here to earn respect, and that's what we did.”

Draisaitl made it 1-0 with a power-play goal at 3:40 of the first period. He took a slick backhand pass from Samanski and banged the puck into an open net.

Frederik Tiffels made it 2-0 at 10:54, collecting a loose puck near the top of the left face-off circle, cutting to the net and banking a high shot off the mask of Junca and in.

JJ Peterka, a Utah Mammoth forward, scored his first goal of the Olympics to give Germany at 3-0 lead at 18:13, taking a pass in the middle of the ice from Stutzle and driving to the net before flipping a backhand shot over Junca.

The goal came with Stutzle (Ottawa Senators) and Draisaitl skating on the same line with Peterka.

“Oh, it's super fun,” Peterka said of playing on that line. “We all try to get open for each other, try to find each other. I mean, if you play with two players that are that good, it just feels good.”

Sturm said the goal for Peterka, who has 20 for Utah this season, came at a “perfect time.”

“He prides himself on scoring and being a difference-maker, and sometimes, you know, I've never been that guy in my career, so I can't really look inside his head,” Sturm said. “But I know that most guys that are like him, it wears on him a little bit when they don't get on the score sheet a lot, and we need him moving forward.”

It’s likely Germany deploys the same line Wednesday in its next elimination game against Slovakia.

“I wouldn't want to be out there against them,” Sturm said. “Leon's puck-protection skills are probably the best in the League, and he has the ability to find players where there's no seams, really, and he makes like a cross-ice pass with his backhand. And obviously, then he has two guys that can finish, so it's about as lethal as it gets.”

Bellemare cut it to 3-1 at 4:02 of the second period when his centering attempt from behind the goal line hit the leg of Germany defenseman Mortiz Mueller and went in.

The 40-year-old, who played 700 NHL games with the Philadelphia Flyers, Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning and Seattle Kraken, said Tuesday would be his last game playing for France.

“To continue wearing this jersey, I had to reach the quarterfinals,” Bellemare said. “It's a little difficult emotionally, but I've never been an individualistic player. I'm not going to start being one.

“I'm proud for everyone. I'm also sad that we couldn't pull off a spectacular game to advance to the next round. Our fans in France deserved it. We're a small hockey nation. The good news is there's a lot to look forward to. If this Olympic tournament can inspire a kid to play, that would be fantastic. In a few years, that kid could be here in my skates, in this very spot.”

Samanski made it 4-1 on the power play at 7:01 of third period. He took a pass in the slot from Draisaitl, then momentarily lost the puck before regaining control and lifting it over Keller.

Sturm scored an empty-net goal with 56 seconds left for the 5-1 final. Draisaitl appeared to have an open look at the net but instead slid the puck to Sturm.

“Usually, that's how I that's how I get on the score sheet,” Sturm said. “Obviously, Leon, nice look, could have shot it as well, but, you know, he's a great guy and he already has 1,000 points.”

It was a light moment for Sturm and Germany, who have less than 24 hours before facing Juraj Slafkovsky and Slovakia, which won a Group B that also included Team Sweden and Team Finland.

“They're a deep team,” Draisaitl said. “They finished first in their group for a reason, and for us, it's a matter of finding our game early and getting to it and staying stingy.”

NOTES: Draisaitl became the first German NHL player to have a three-point game at the Olympics. … The quarterfinal game Wednesday will be the third meeting between Germany and Slovakia at Olympics with NHL players, and the first to occur in the quarterfinals or later. Germany won each of the previous games, 3-0 in the preliminary round in 2002, and 4-2 in the consolation round in 1998. … This is the second time Germany has advanced to the quarterfinals at Olympics with NHL players; it lost 5-0 to Team USA in 2002.