Jake Guentzel defends Auston Matthews from undeserved ‘heat’ after Germany win in Olympic hockey

The United States picked up its third and final victory of the preliminary round of the Olympic hockey tournament, downing Germany by a 5-1 margin. The United States was led by team captain Auston Matthews, who scored a pair of goals in the victory.

As a result of the win, the United States moves on to the quarterfinals of the competition as the No. 2 seed behind archrival Canada. Both teams registered regulation-time victories in all three of their preliminary round games, but the Canadians earned the top seed because of their superior goal differential.

Team Canada has a plus-17 goal differential, while the Americans are plus-11 in their wins over Latvia, Denmark and Germany.

After the win over Germany, American star Jake Guentzel defended Matthews when he spoke to the media. The American captain has been criticized by multiple media sources and fans on social media because he does not come across with the same kind of fervor as brothers Matthew and Brady Tkachuk of Team USA or Sidney Crosby of Team Canada.

“He’s been great all tournament,” Guentzel said, per Mark Lazarus of The Athletic. “You guys put a lot of heat on him for no reason. He’s just an unbelievable player and he plays in all situations.”

Matthews also serves as the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs during the NHL season. While Matthews has been one of the league’s top goal scorers throughout his career, the Maple Leafs have never gotten past the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Toronto’s lack of success in the postseason has opened Matthews up for criticism, but Guentzel has clearly come to his defense as the United States fights for a hockey gold medal.

The post Jake Guentzel defends Auston Matthews from undeserved ‘heat’ after Germany win in Olympic hockey appeared first on ClutchPoints.