Team USA cruised to a 5-1 win over Germany as it closed preliminary round play with a perfect 3-0-0-0 record. Captain Auston Matthews led his team with three points, and the Americans played a more complete game as they rolled into the quarterfinals.

Through the first two games, Matthews had been a lightning rod for criticism because he wasn’t too much of a factor in either win, at least when it came to scoring. He quieted that criticism quite emphatically on Sunday.

Matthews really kickstarted the play that got Team USA on the board late in the first period when he retrieved a loose puck in the offensive zone and found defenseman Zach Werenski gliding down the weak side.

From there, Matthews made his presence felt in the offensive zone by getting to the front of the net, scoring both of his goals from in or around the crease.

As has been the case in every game, the Tkachuk brothers were very noticeable. Brady was throwing his weight around and notched an assist on a goal by Brock Faber, and Matthew Tkachuk picked up two more assists as he continues to be at the center of the action offensively.

Connor Hellebuyck didn’t see too much action in net, but he was very good when called upon. The lone goal he allowed was the result of a glorious scoring chance from one of Germany’s most dangerous players, Tim Stützle.

The U.S. made the preliminary round harder than it needed to be, but the team played its best game of the tournament on Sunday. The Americans will try to carry that momentum into the quarterfinals, where they’ll play the winner of Sweden vs. Latvia.

Monster game from Matthews

When Auston Matthews is at his best, he’s a top five player in the world. That’s who Team USA needs in order to win a gold medal, and that’s who showed up for the United States on Sunday. Matthews was a force for the Americans, winning puck battles in the offensive zone and getting to dangerous scoring areas.

Matthews did a lot of hard work, and it paid off for him and the team. On his first goal of the game, Matthews planted himself right in front of German goalie Maximilan Frazreb and deflected a Quinn Hughes point into the net. On his second tally of the day, Matthews once again put himself in front of the net, this time redirecting a Jake Sanderson shot-pass on the back door.

If the United States intends to go through Canada to win a gold medal, it needs its centers at their best to compete with Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby. Jack Eichel has been playing at a high level all tournament, and Matthews just provided a star performance as well.

Hellebuyck looked sharp

Connor Hellebuyck isn’t getting into the Hockey Hall of Fame on the strength of this game alone, but he was very good nonetheless. Hellebuyck stopped 23 of the 24 shots he faced, and he’s now up to 39 saves on 41 shots against in this tournament. Although Hellebuyck hasn’t exactly been peppered, he’s been exactly what Team USA needs him to be, which is dependable.

That was especially the case coming off of a disastrous showing in net from Jeremy Swayman against Denmark. Swayman allowed two goals he shouldn’t have, and a pedestrian start from Hellebuyck on Sunday would have only shaken confidence in the elite American goaltenders even more. Hellebuyck was a stabilizing presence in the crease, and he’ll start every game the rest of the way.

Team USA has yet to play to its potential

The United States still has another level that it hasn’t shown yet — at least that better be the case or the Americans have little chance of winning a gold medal. That’s because the Canadians have set the bar with their preliminary round performance in Group A, and the Americans have yet to meet that standard for a full 60 minutes.

We’ve seen what Team USA can do when it’s operating at maximums efficiency because its done that in bursts. The U.S. looked like the Harlem Globetrotters on ice in the second period against Latvia, and it out-classed Germany for large stretches on Sunday. The issue is that the Americans have yet to play an opponent with NHL-caliber depth, but that will change soon.

Team USA has leaned heavily on its star players at the top of the lineup, especially on offense. Jack Eichel, Matthew Tkachuk, Brady Tkachuk and Auston Matthews have shouldered a lot of the burden there. Matt Boldy and Jake Guentzel still have more to offer. Dylan Larkin hasn’t made a significant impact after being a major factor at the 4 Nations Face-Off. I thought Clayton Keller would provide an upgrade over Kyle Connor on Sunday, but he simply didn’t. More juice can be squeezed out of this loaded roster.

All of this isn’t to say that Team USA has played poorly. It hasn’t. However, if the goal is to win a gold medal, the Americans haven’t quite been good enough yet. If the United States gets Sweden in the quarterfinals, that will be a dangerous matchup with a lot on the line, and the team will have to play its best game of the Olympics to advance.