The U.S. men’s hockey team is facing a do-or-die Olympic battle against Sweden in the quarterfinals Wednesday.
And it might not be easy.
Facing Latvia, Denmark and Germany in the preliminary round means the Americans have not been tested as much as some other top contenders so far.
That changes against Sweden, which had to play in the qualification round and beat Latvia just to get to this stage.
“As this tournament starts to move forward, the stakes get higher,” Sullivan said. “The competition gets stiffer, and I think our guys are excited for that challenge.”
The Swedes are only seeded seventh because they finished third in their group behind Finland and Slovakia based on a goal differential tiebreaker from one they allowed in the final minute of a 5-3 victory in their round-robin finale. Matthew Tkachuk rightfully called them “one of the powerhouses in the world,” so the difficulty level is ratcheting up big time for him and his U.S. teammates.
“We haven’t seen them yet in this tournament, but we’re very well aware of the personnel group that they have,” Coach Mike Sullivan said.
Team USA earned a quarterfinal berth by finishing atop Group C with a 3-0 record in the preliminary round.
Captain Auston Matthews and alternate captain Tkachuk are tied for the team lead in points (five), while Connor Hellebuyck has posted a .962 save percentage over two starts.
Here’s how and when to watch the game:
What time is the USA vs. Sweden men’s hockey game?
Puck drop is scheduled for 2:10 p.m. CT.
Where to watch the U.S.-Sweden game?
The game will air live on NBC and can also be streamed on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
What’s left in the schedule?
After the four quarterfinal games on Wednesday, the hockey semifinals will take place on Friday, with game times at 9:40 a.m. and 2:10 p.m.
The men’s hockey bronze medal game will be played on Saturday at 1:40 p.m., and the gold medal game will take place next Sunday at 7:10 a.m., with the Olympic closing ceremonies set to follow.
