Stutzle scores twice, Germany handles Denmark in Olympic opener

Tim Stutzle scored two goals for Team Germany in a 3-1 win against Team Denmark in a Group C game at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 at RHO Arena in Milan on Thursday.

Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist, and Philipp Grubauer made 37 saves for Germany (1-0-0-0).

“It was a pretty late game, 9 p.m. (local start). It’s tough to find a rhythm and find your superstitions, but it was a really fun game and I’m glad we got the win,” Stutzle said. “It’s a good feeling. I think [my first goal] was a big goal, going up 2-1 after they scored, and it kind of gave the momentum back to us. I think our first power play was pretty solid as well, kind of moving the puck around and got a little bit lucky.”

GAMECENTER SUMMARY: Germany-Denmark

Oscar Fisker Molgaard scored, and Frederik Andersen made 23 saves for Denmark (0-0-1-0).

“The Danes skate well and they are big guys, too,” Germany coach Harold Kreis said. “I think they were trying to take away time and space from Leon. They played him physical a couple of times, but it doesn’t bother him. It doesn’t take him off his game. He comes off, he rests and goes back on and does his job.

“I think that was a great example for everybody else, but all 21 players on the bench, beginning with [Grubauer] through the 'D' and the forwards, everyone battled hard today and paid the price to win that game today.”

Draisaitl scored just 23 seconds into the first period to give Germany a 1-0 lead. Frederik Tiffels sent a pass down low to the bottom of the right circle, where Draisaitl redirected it short side on Andersen.

Draisaitl and Tiffels are childhood friends, having grown up playing minor hockey in Germany together.

Tiffels was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the sixth round (No. 167) of the 2015 NHL Draft and now plays with Eisbaren Berlin in the Deutsche Eishockey Liga. Draisaitl was selected by the Edmonton Oilers with the No. 3 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and has 1,036 career points (428 goals, 608 assists), the most among German-born players in NHL history.

“It was cool that Freddy and I could do that together,” Draisaitl said. “That’s special. We played these games together as kids in the streets of Cologne. That was emotional, no question, but it was just as important to get the win."

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

Fisker Moelgaard tied it 1-1 at 13:09. He couldn’t control a hard centering pass from Nikolaj Ehlers, but the puck still slid under the left pad of Grubauer, who was moving the other way.

Stutzle put the Germans back in front 2-1 at 4:20 of the second period. He buried a one-timer glove side from the right hash marks off a backhand pass from JJ Peterka.

Stutzle then extended the lead to 3-1 while on a power play at 10:02. His centering pass for a cutting Draisaitl deflected in off the shin of Denmark defenseman Oliver Lauridsen.

“Leon had a lot of ice time today (21:46), he carried a lot of responsibility," Kreis said. "We looked to match him up against the Ehlers, (Alexander) True line (with Oliver Bjorkstrand). That the game started that way for him and for us was great, but let’s be honest, we still had another 59 minutes of hockey left. It didn’t seem to bother the Danes too much. They played a tight-checking game today, and it was a lot of work for everybody.”

Germany will next play Team Latvia (0-0-1-0) at RHO Arena on Saturday (6:00 a.m. ET; Peacock, CNBC, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, TSN), when Denmark will play Team USA (1-0-0-0) at Santagiulia Arena (3:00 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, ICI Tele, CBC Gem, TSN).

NHL.com International director of production Andrew Ardini contributed to this report