Andersen won't start for Denmark against U.S. in Olympic preliminary round

MILAN -- Frederik Andersen will not start for Team Denmark against Team USA at Santagiulia Arena on Saturday (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI Télé, CBC Gem, TSN) in a Group C preliminary round game at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

"I'm not going to start Andersen tomorrow," Denmark coach Mikael Gath told NHL.com after practice Friday.

Why would the Danes not play their No. 1 goaltender against the Americans?

Probably to save him for a more winnable game, hoping to put themselves in a better position for the single-elimination portion of the tournament.

Andersen made 23 saves in Denmark's 3-1 loss to Team Germany across the city at Rho Arena on Thursday.

The Danes are heavy underdogs against the U.S., and the game is at 9:10 p.m. local time Saturday. They must go back to Rho Arena to play Team Latvia at 7:10 p.m. local time Sunday.

The 12 teams in the tournament are divided into three groups. Each team plays three preliminary round games within its group. The winners of each group and the best second-place finisher receive byes into the quarterfinals, while the rest are seeded for the qualification round. The winners in the qualification round advance to the quarterfinals.

Germany and the United States are tied for the lead in Group C, each with a regulation win. Denmark and Latvia each has a regulation loss.

"We have a bad schedule," Gath said. "We're playing 9 o'clock against U.S., and then we play early against Latvia the day after, and we have three good goalies."

Gath said he hasn't decided who will start against the United States.

Only two goalies born in Denmark ever have played in the NHL: Andersen and Mads Sogaard, the backup against Germany.

Andersen is 315-145-58 with a 2.59 goals-against average, .914 save percentage and 28 shutouts in 539 games. The 36-year-old is 7-10-5 with a 3.26 GAA and an .871 save percentage in 22 games for the Carolina Hurricanes this season.

Sogaard is 12-11-3 with a 3.60 GAA and .877 save percentage in 31 games. The 25-year-old is 1-0-0 with a 4.65 GAA and .833 save percentage in two games for the Ottawa Senators this season, and 4-8-4 with a 3.30 GAA and .889 save percentage in 18 games for Belleville of the American Hockey League.

Denmark's third goalie is Frederik Dichow. The Montreal Canadiens selected him in the fifth round (No. 138) of the 2019 NHL Draft, but he has never played in North America. The 24-year-old is 3-6-0 with a 2.40 GAA and .912 save percentage with HV71 of the Swedish Hockey League this season. He played one game for Denmark at the 2022 Beijing Olympics, which did not include NHL players. He made 39 saves when Denmark upset Team Canada 2-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2025 IIHF World Championship, defeating a team that included NHL stars Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini.