The 2026 Winter Olympics continue in Milan, Italy on Tuesday. The Group Stage of men’s hockey competition came to a close over the weekend, but the real action begins on Tuesday as the puck drops to begin the elimination rounds of the tournament’s playoff. First up on the schedule, Germany and France will battle at 6:10 a.m. EST stateside.
Below, we’ll hit a brief preview, prediction and betting pick for Tuesday’s Olympic hockey matchup between Germany and France.
Germany vs. France prediction, preview
The Germans had a somewhat rough go of things in Group C, finishing with one regulation win and two regulation losses. They were never expected to win the group by any means, especially not with the United States included, but it’s been a mixed bag of results thus far.
Even when considering that this roster isn’t chock full with NHL players, it’s still disappointing that the lone win for Team Germany came in the opening game over Latvia. That contest ended with a 3-1 victory behind an early goal by Leon Draisaitl (EDM) and a pair from Tim Stutzle (OTT), the latter of whose four points lead his national team thus far. While Germany managed to skate by after being outshot by a 12-shot margin in that game, its second matchup didn’t play out as anticipated. The Germans fell 4-3 to Latvia despite leading midway through the second period and taking the advantage in shots on goal. It was a certainly a winnable game, unlike the third of the tournament against the United States. On Sunday, Germany was predictably blown out 5-1 by the USA. In that one, Florida Panthers star Matthew Tkachuk was caught on camera jawing at Draisaitl — who he beat in back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals — that he was “always the bridesmaid, never the bride.”
As for France, I put it politely over the weekend by writing that the nation isn’t exactly a hockey power. The team dropped all three of its Group Stage appearances and was largely embarrassed in each. The French dropped their first game to Switzerland 4-0, being outshot 43-27 in that contest. They did find the net for the first time against Czechia with three goals on just 12 shots, but also dropped the outing 6-3 while allowing 38 shots in the process. As if that’s not bad enough, they suffered a crushing 10-2 defeat in the final game of the stage at the hands of gold medal-favorites Canada. The final margin in shots? 46-14, certainly not in favor of the French.
There’s essentially no high-end talent on this roster, and that’s a major issue. As I put it in my last write-up over them:
Do the French have much talent? Alexandre Texier (MON) is the lone current NHLer on the roster and slots in as the 2LW. He’s yet to notch a goal so far, with the three scores coming from a pair by 2C Louis Boudon and one by defensemen Hugo Gallet. 40-year-old former NHLer Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Stephane Da Costa (38 PTS in the KHL) and Dylan Fabre (19 PTS in Liiga play) anchor the top forward grouping.
Germany vs. France pick, best bet
Germany enters this matchup as a 2.5-goal favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook with -700 odds to win outright. France holds +500 odds of an outright upset with the game total set at 6.5 combined goals.
Team Germany didn’t excel in group play, but they do have much more talent in comparison to Team France. Stutzle’s four goals place him second among all goalscorers in this tournament and JJ Peterka (UTA) has three assists. Draisaitl hasn’t looked like a truly elite talent with just three points thus far, but we all know how easily the sniper can catch fire as evidenced by his heroics in the NHL as as well. Throw in former Calder Trophy winner Moritz Seider and a couple of other NHLers like Nico Strum and Lukas Reichel, and it’ll be incredibly difficult for France to keep up.
The stats you need to know? The French have managed a tournament-low 53 SOG while giving up 127 to opponents. Woof. While Germany has also been outshot through three games, this France defense is simply abysmal and won’t pose much resistance. Beyond that the team’s SV% sits at just 84.25%.
Draisaitl and Stutzle should have plenty of fun out there in an easy win for the Germans. With that in mind, Team Germany -2.5 makes a ton of sense, even at -155 odds.
