The United States Men’s Ice Hockey team swept the Group stage of the 2026 Olympic Tournament by defeating Latvia, Denmark, and Germany.
For their efforts, the Americans earned a first-round bye in the quarterfinal round and will face Sweden for a place in the last four.
The Swedes earned the right to go up against Team USA by defeating Latvia by a score of 5-1 in the qualifying round.
Team Sweden put forth an underwhelming performance in Group play, but their impressive victory over Latvia gives them plenty of momentum heading into this crucial matchup against the Americans.
Team USA breezed through Group play by defeating Latvia, Denmark, and Germany by a combined score of 16-5. Their offensive depth was on full display as all four lines were excellent and a total of 11 different players found the back of the net.
There’s no doubt that USA’s strength is its well-rounded scoring attack, which presents plenty of problems for Sweden in this matchup.
At the same time, Team Sweden is a tough draw for the Americans.
Along with Team Canada and Team USA, Sweden’s roster is also completely made up of NHL talent and they entered the tournament with the third-best odds to win Gold and is the toughest opponent in the quarterfinal round for teams who received byes.
However, Team USA is the team to back in this matchup. Team Sweden may be stacked with plenty of NHL talent, but they just haven’t looked completely in sync throughout this tournament.
Things won’t get any easier going up against Connor Hellebuyck and Team USA.
The Swedes have also taken a tournament-high 18 penalties, which spells bad news against Team USA’s lethal power play.
It’s also worth mentioning that Team USA is looking for revenge. These teams met in last year’s 4 Nations Face Off, with Sweden prevailing 2-1, although the Americans had already clinched a spot in the title game.
Team Sweden will put up a fight, but look for Team USA to prevail in regulation.
Team USA has done a great job of limiting scoring chances from their opponents in this tournament. The Americans have allowed just five total goals through three games and only two have been with Hellebuyck between the pipes.
Jeremy Swayman had a rough day against Denmark, but Hellebuyck allowed just one goal against Latvia and Germany respectively. He is expected to get the starting nod in this contest and he owns a solid .952 save percentage to go along with a 1.00 goals-against average in two starts.
That should give Team USA plenty of confidence at limiting Sweden’s offensive attack.
Team Sweden’s offense was underwhelming in the Group stage, but they finally erupted for five goals on Tuesday against Latvia. However, it’s tough to expect a similar performance against Team USA in this matchup.
Latvia has been among the worst defensive teams in this tournament allowing 4.0 goals per game. The Americans are allowing just 1.67 goals per game and, despite a better shooting night on Tuesday, the Swedes still own a shooting percentage of 9.20% in the tournament.
Team USA has posted solid offensive numbers in this tournament, but has gotten off to slow offensive starts.
The 1st period has been a bit tricky for Team USA and, when going up against the toughest opponent they’ve seen thus far, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Americans start slow offensively once again.
Team Sweden’s penalty kill has also been great, allowing just one goal through 12 opposing power plays in this tournament, so, all in all, look to the under in this elimination matchup.
Read more betting picks and predictions for the Olympics on site.
USA
-220
Sweden
+180
Puck Line
USA -1.5
Total
O/U 6.5
Auston Matthews (USA)
+130
Jack Eichel (USA)
+180
William Nylander (Sweden)
+220
Tage Thompson (USA)
+240
Brady Tkachuk (USA)
+190
Matthew Tkachuk (USA)
+210
Read the latest Olympics news on site.
This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
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