Olympics: Stutzle Scores Twice, Germany Defeats Denmark 3-1

The first-ever Olympic meeting between Germany and Denmark featuring NHL rosters took place Thursday at Rho Arena, with Germany securing a historic 3-1 victory. The win marked Germany’s first Olympic triumph with NHL players on the ice since defeating Latvia in February 2002. Tim Stützle led the charge with a two-goal performance, while Leon Draisaitl set the tone early with a goal of his own, and Philipp Grubauer was sensational in net, turning away 37 shots to stifle the Danish attack. Although Oscar Fisker Mølgaard managed to get Denmark on the board, it wasn't enough to overcome the German momentum. Germany now looks ahead to a Saturday clash with Latvia, which fell to the U.S. in their opener, while Denmark prepares for a tough test against the Americans.

Germany Lineup:

Samanski - Draisaitl - Tiffels

Peterka - Stutzle - Stachowiak

Reichel - Michaels - Kahun

Reider - Sturm - Ehl

Wagner - Seider

J. Muller - Wissmann

Kalble - Gawanke

M. Muller

Grubauer

Franzreb

Denmark Lineup:

Bjorkstrand - True - Ehlers

Blichfeld - Eller - Jensen

Olesen - Fisker Mølgaard - Aagaard

Storm - Wejse - Russell

Poulsen

Jenson Aabo - Lauridsen

B. Jensen - Setkov

Laurisden - Bruggisser

Lassen

Andersen

Sogaard

Leon Draisaitl redirected a pass by Frederik Tiffels from down low in the bottom of the right circle, to score short side on Frederik Andersen just 23 seconds into the opening period to give Germany a 1-0 lead. Later in the first period at 6:51, Oscar Fisker Mølgaard tied it 1-1 when he wasn't able to control Nikolaj Ehlers' centering pass, but the puck still slid right under Philipp Grubauer's left pad, who was moving the other way.

Tim Stutzle buried a one-timer from the right hash marks after taking a backhanded pass from JJ Peterka to put the Germans back in front 2-1 in the middle frame at 15:40. Not too long after his first goal, Stutzle struck again to extend it to 3-1 with a power-play goal with 9:58 on the clock. His centering pass, which was meant for a cutting in Draisaitl, deflected in off Oliver Lauridsen's shin past Andersen.

Notes:

- Philipp Grubauer made a total of 37 saves for Germany.

- Frederik Andersen made a total of 23 saves for Denmark.

- Leon Draisaitl scored just 23 seconds into the game for Germany - the third-fastest goal to open an Olympic game with NHL players (behind Jozef Stumpel at 0:11 in 2002 and Dmitri Pankov at 0:20 in 2002). ...Draisaitl finished with two points (1-1--2) against Denmark. His father, Peter, also played in the 1998 Olympics with NHL players and tied for Germany’s team lead with four points (2-2--4).

- Draisaitl and Frederik Tiffels (drafted 167th overall by PIT in 2015) both factored in on Germany’s opening goal. The two were minor hockey teammates in Mannheim at the U16 and U18 levels.

- Nikolaj Ehlers recorded an assist on Denmark’s first goal of the tournament. He leads all Danish players in NHL history in goals, assists, and points, passing Frans Nielsen in assists earlier this season.

- Tim Stützle scored to give Germany a 2-1 lead. It’s just the second time two NHL-represented German players have scored in the same Olympic game, joining Marcel Goc (NSH) and Dennis Seidenberg (FLA) in 2010 vs. Belarus. ...Stützle became the second German player to score twice in an Olympic game with NHL players, following Jan Benda in 1998.

- Germany’s rise will be on display in Milano Cortina, with Leon Draisaitl, Moritz Seider, and Tim Stützle making their Olympic debuts. Since their last NHL-player Olympics in Vancouver, Germany has won silver in PyeongChang and finished top four three times at Worlds (2nd in 2023; 4th in 2021 and 2010).

- Eleven German players on the roster have NHL experience, including Leon Draisaitl (EDM), the highest-scoring German in NHL history, with more than twice the points of the next closest player.

- Germany’s last Olympic goal with NHL players came from Manuel Klinge in the Vancouver qualification playoffs. The goal before that was scored by Marcel Goc, the only German to make his NHL debut in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (Game 5 of the 2004 CQF).

- This is Denmark’s first Olympics featuring NHL players. At Beijing 2022, they reached the quarterfinals after going 2-1-0 in the preliminary round.

- Nikolaj Ehlers holds the NHL records for most goals, assists, and points by a Danish player. He helped Denmark qualify for Beijing - the program’s first Olympic appearance - and scored the late tying goal before Denmark upset Canada in the 2025 World Championship quarterfinals en route to a best-ever fourth-place finish.

- Eleven Danish players on the roster have NHL experience, including two current teammate pairings: Lars Eller and Mads Sogaard (OTT), and Frederik Andersen and Nikolaj Ehlers (CAR). The other current NHLers are Oliver Bjorkstrand (TBL) and Oscar Fisker Molgaard (SEA), who were recalled for their final game before the Olympic break.