MILAN — Matthew Tkachuk insists he and his U.S. teammates were only focused on beating Germany in their preliminary round finale and never worried about scoring enough goals to pass Canada for the top seed at the Olympics. “We never talked once about the top seed at all,” Tkachuk said. “None of that seeding stuff. All that handles itself.” It’s handled now, after the U.S. defeated Germany 5-1 on Sunday night behind two goals and an assist from captain Auston Matthews and 23 saves from Connor Hellebuyck. The Americans finished group play unbeaten to clinch the second seed in the knockout round. “The confidence just continues to grow within our group,” Matthews said. “Each game I think...
