Should Jake Oettinger get the start against Germany?

Should the last of the three goaltenders for Team USA get some playing time?

Heading into the final day of the preliminary round of the men’s hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics, the United States has already clinched first place in Group C, thanks to wins over Latvia and Denmark. While securing a top-two seed heading into the quarterfinals is ideal, their Sunday matchup against Germany doesn’t have much bearing on their status for the knockout stage.

So far in the tournament, the U.S. has used both goaltenders Connor Hellebuyck and Jeremy Swayman, with the latter having a rather shaky effort against the Danes on Saturday. With that, people are starting to wonder if the team should call Jake Oettinger into action against the Germans, simply in order to get some ice time in case they need him later in the tournament.

During Daily Faceoff’s postgame show between Team USA and Denmark, Steve Peters joined Shawn DePaz to explain why Oettinger should get the net on Sunday.

Steve Peters: Hellebuyck’s going to be your guy in the first game of the quarterfinals…He’s only played one game in the last 10 days, because they’ve been up in a gel. Oettinger hasn’t played at all. So, if Hellebuyck goes in and either A, struggles or, B, gets hurt, you have to throw an Oettinger in that hasn’t played at all. … I don’t want Oettinger to have to play in a semifinal or final game without touching the ice for the entire tournament and not playing since Dallas’ last game…I would love to see him get some action.

As strange as it may sound, you may look at this from the coaching perspective – I don’t think they’re going to do this. I’ve never seen a team do this – But I wouldn’t be surprised to do it like a preseason game, where you’re going, ‘Okay, Helly, you’re getting the start. You’re our starting goalie. We need to get you some more reps. Get out on the Olympic ice. You’re going to play the first period in half or even the first two periods. Jake, you’re going in on the third period. We need you to get a feel for the ice. See the puck in the third period. Just get comfortable on the ice.’ I would like to see a coach take that approach. I don’t think we’ll see that tomorrow against Team Germany. Maybe we see Oettinger get the start. I do want to see him get some touches and reps before this tournament gets to do-or-die.

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…