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

MILAN -- Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, and Team Germany advanced to the quarterfinals of the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 with a 5-1 win against Team France at Santagiulia Arena on Tuesday.

Philipp Grubauer made 30 saves, and Tim Stutzle had two assists for Germany, which will face Team Slovakia in the quarterfinals on Wednesday (6:10 a.m. ET; Peacock, CBC Gem, SN, RDS).

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.

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: France-Germany

Draisaitl, the Edmonton Oilers center and Germany captain, made it 1-0 with a power-play goal at 3:40 of the first period. He took a slick backhand pass from Josh Samanski, an Oilers prospect, 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, gave 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.

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

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.

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.

Nico Sturm scored an empty-net goal with 55 seconds left for the 5-1 final.