Sweden is 2-0 against the USA in the NHL era of the Winter Olympics.
The United States will try to change that history when it faces Sweden (3:10 p.m. ET, NBC, Peacock) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday, Feb. 18.
Sweden defeated the USA 4-2 in 1998 in the first Olympics to use NHL players and it also won in 2006 on its way to a gold medal.
The USA is the higher seed in 2026 in the NHL’s first Olympics participation since 2014. The Americans finished 3-0 in the preliminary round and earned a bye to the quarterfinals. Those wins came against teams with fewer NHL players, so Sweden will be the United States’ toughest opponent to date.
Sweden lost to NHL-stocked Finland in the round robin and is playing on back-to-back days. It beat Latvia 5-1 in the qualification round, the same score as the USA’s win over the Latvians.
Which team will advance to the semifinals? USA TODAY Network staffers weigh in:
Watch USA vs. Sweden men’s hockey on Peacock
Mike Brehm, USA TODAY
USA 4, Sweden 2: The Americans are getting balanced scoring and played a near-perfect game against Germany, shutting down superstar Leon Draisaitl and getting two goals from Auston Matthews. Sweden will be a tougher test, but the Americans’ depth and goaltending will get the job done.
Kevin Skiver, USA TODAY
USA 5, Sweden 3: Though the Swedes managed to find life against Latvia in the qualification playoff round – helped along by Gabriel Landeskog and Lucas Raymond – long flat stretches plagued them throughout the preliminary round. The United States have also looked slow on the ice at times, but the scores haven’t reflected it to date. Ultimately, talent wins out and Team USA manages to find the net enough to move past Sweden with relative ease, but not without wishing for more from its top players ahead of the semifinals.
Helene St. James, Detroit Free Press
USA 5, Sweden 3: The USA has the better goaltending and overall depth in general, so expect the Americans to advance to the semifinals. This should be the best test of their tournament so far, though the Swedes haven’t looked as good as they arguably should given the stars on their roster.
