The USA men’s hockey team has been dominant so far at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, winning all three of their qualification games by a combined score of 16-5. Their reward for playing so well? The toughest quarterfinal matchup against Sweden, one of the top medal contenders in the tournament.
Sweden’s disappointing round-robin play, including a loss to rival Finland, left them third in Group B and seventh overall. They knocked off Latvia in the play-in round on Tuesday, setting up the game against the Americans on Wednesday.
Puck drop is set for 3:10 p.m. ET between these two strong hockey nations. This feels more like a semifinal than a quarterfinal and will be a tough early test for both sides as they look to make a run towards the gold medal.
The pressure has ramped up now that we’ve reached the elimination round of this Olympic tournament. While before teams could get away with making a few mistakes, that’s no longer the case. Lose one game, and you’re heading back home without the ultimate prize.
Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk pace the Americans thus far with five points each, while Matthews sits alone as the team’s top goal-scorer with three. Those big names will be relied on heavily by the Americans as they move forward into the big games.
Here are the most important things to watch as Sweden and the United States get ready to face-off.
Will Team USA finally put together a dominant 60-minute performance?
The Americans have played well thus far and taken care of business against weaker nations. However, they have not had a full 60-minute dominant showing like some of the other top gold medal contenders have.
Part of that could be due to the USA’s preliminary group, which featured solid teams like Germany and Denmark, who, while not gold medal contenders, do pose some challenges. Part of it could be this team taking a bit longer to gel. No matter what it is, the Americans haven’t put together a true high-octane performance yet where they look completely connected for the entire game.
The talent is there, and it feels like the Americans are due for a scoring explosion. They caught some bad bounces in the preliminary round, including a few disallowed goals and some poor puck luck. It feels like only a matter of time before the dam bursts, and Sweden might just be on the wrong end of it.
Can the USA use its rest advantage?
Sweden played Latvia on Tuesday, in the late-game slot, and then they’re back in action a day later. The Americans have two full days off before puck drop, an advantage they’ll want to exploit in this game.
While it may not show itself early, the difference in time off for these two teams could be a big factor. When the third period rolls around, the Americans should have the upper hand in terms of energy levels.
Key Swedish players like Adrian Kempe, Joel Eriksson Ek, Rasmus Dahlin, and Gustav Forsling all played more than 18 minutes on Tuesday against Latvia. They won’t have a lot of time to recover before the quarter-final on Wednesday.
The Americans can further this advantage by rolling their lines early, showing off their depth, and keeping their legs fresh for the third period. We’ll see how Mike Sullivan decides to deploy his star-studded lineup, but don’t be surprised if Team USA pulls ahead in the third period against Sweden.
Team USA forecheck vs. Team Sweden’s defense
If Sweden is going to win this game, it’ll likely be on the back of their smooth-skating defense group taking over. With players like Dahlin, Forsling, Victor Hedman, Philip Broberg, and Erik Karlsson on the blue line, Sweden has a very nice collection of talented defenders.
The Americans will need to ensure they get forecheckers into the offensive zone quickly and apply pressure on the Swedish blueliners, forcing them to make mistakes. They need to make life uncomfortable for players like Dahlin and Karlsson, who can quickly get play moving the other way with long stretch passes.
The abnormal rink dimensions at this tournament have led to more dump-ins and only added further pressure on defensemen to make slick puck retrievals and get breakouts started.
This will be one of the more interesting matchups to watch during Wednesday’s game. The Americans have the big-bodied forwards needed, like the Tkachuk brothers, to cause havoc in the offensive zone. That’s going to be crucial if they’re going to win this one.
