The last time Sweden and the United States met in the Winter Olympics, Team USA lost 2-1 in a preliminary round game. When the two teams meet this Wednesday, the stakes will be higher as they kick off the quarterfinals at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics.
The two teams haven’t met in the Winter Olympics since 2006. For the USA, their best finish since that year was a silver medal at the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics. And this year, Sweden looks to match their efforts in Turin, where they went on to win the gold medal over Finland.
Team USA’s last Olympic victory over Sweden was back on Feb. 22, 1960. The teams met in the final pool round, and America won 6-3. In 1960, the Americans would go undefeated (7-0) on their way to gold in Squaw Valley, California.
In the present day, the two teams have played well thus far in the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. America led Group C with a 3-0 record, while Sweden advanced to the quarterfinals after a three-way tie at the top of Group B with Slovakia and Finland, each with a 2-0-1 record.
Sweden defeated Latvia 5-1 in a playoff qualifier Tuesday to set up the quarterfinal game against the United States. Team USA and Sweden last faced off in non-Olympic play in the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, which Sweden won 2-1.
Team USA did not play Tuesday, after winning their Sunday matchup against Germany by a score of 5-1. The team looks to Auston Matthews to contribute to the score sheet, as the center has scored five points off three goals and two assists. Fellow former NHL All-Star Matthew Tkachuk also has five points for Team USA, and goalie Connor Hellebuyck has contributed a .962 save percentage over two starts.
How to watch USA men’s hockey vs. Sweden?
Wednesday’s quartfinal matchup will air on NBC New York at 3:10 p.m., and the action can also be streamed on Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.
