France Bows Out of Olympic Hockey After 5-1 Loss to Germany
MONTRÉAL - France’s Olympic hockey journey came to a close Tuesday after a 5-1 loss to Germany in the qualification round at the Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena. With the defeat, France has officially been eliminated from the 2026 Winter Games.
Let’s be clear: this was a tough one for Les Bleus. Germany came out flying, and by the time the first period ended, France was staring down a 3-0 deficit.
The Germans struck early and often, with NHL stars like Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stützle making their presence felt in a big way. Draisaitl opened the scoring on the power play just past the six-minute mark, and Germany didn’t look back.
France managed to get on the board late in the second period, when Pierre-Édouard Bellemare found the back of the net off a setup from Anthony Perret. That goal cut the German lead to 3-1 and gave France a flicker of hope heading into the final frame.
But any momentum was short-lived. Germany added two more in the third, including another power-play marker, this time from Roman Samanski, assisted by Draisaitl and Moritz Seider.
One of the few bright spots for France was forward Alexandre Texier, who logged over 20 minutes of ice time - the second-highest among French forwards - and fired four shots on goal. He was active, engaged, and clearly trying to will his team back into the game. But against a German squad this deep and this efficient, it just wasn’t enough.
The loss ends France’s Olympic run, and while the scoreboard tells a lopsided story, there were moments of fight from this French team. They came into the tournament with heart and hustle, but they ran into a German team that’s looking more and more like a medal threat as the knockout rounds begin.
What’s Next in the Tournament
With France out, Germany advances to the quarterfinals, where they’ll face off against Slovakia - led by the rising star Juraj Slafkovsky - in an early Wednesday matchup. That game gets underway at 6:10 a.m. ET.
Later in the day, Team Canada - featuring Nick Suzuki - will take on the winner of the Czechia-Denmark game at 10:40 a.m. ET.
Finland, with Oliver Kapanen in the mix, is set to battle Switzerland at 12:10 p.m. ET.
The quarterfinals are shaping up to be a showcase of high-end talent and national pride, and if Germany keeps playing like they did against France, they’ll be a tough out for anyone.