Olympic Hockey 2018 Schedule, Live Stream for Monday's Women's Games
Switzerland and Sweden will try to keep pace with each other in Group B Monday ahead of their women's hockey showdown Tuesday, which will likely determine the group winner.
The Swiss showed no mercy in their opener Saturday, as they knocked off the unified Korea team 8-0 behind four goals from Alina Muller.
Sweden eked out a 2-1 victory over Japan in the tournament's opening game thanks to a third-period tally from Sara Hjalmarsson.
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The two medal hopefuls will switch opponents for Monday's play, and if both nations win, they'll secure spots in the elimination round.
Monday Ice Hockey Schedule
All games can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com.
Women's Group B: Switzerland vs. Japan (2:40 a.m. ET)
Women's Group B: Sweden vs. Korea (7:10 a.m. ET)
Can Muller Replicate Her Scoring Success?
Muller wasted no time thrusting her name into the women's hockey spotlight Saturday, as she scored a natural hat-trick in the first period of Switzerland's victory over Korea.
The 19-year-old said the Swiss felt a bit nervous going into the game against the host nation but that they settled into a rhythm and used the atmosphere to their advantage, per IIHF's Lucas Aykroyd: "We were a little bit nervous, but we were also excited to start the Olympics. We heard the crowd, and it helped us to win, I think. After two or three shifts it was fun to play. I wanted to show the crowd what we could do."
Muller, the younger sister of New Jersey Devils defenseman Mirco Mueller, tied the single-game Olympic scoring record held by Sweden's Pernilla Winberg and Switzerland's Stephanie Marty. She also joined Canada's Cherie Pipe and Jayna Hefford as one of the only players to record six points in an Olympic game, per the IIHF.
The Swiss are expected to receive more of a fight from Japan Monday, but there will be plenty of scoring opportunities for Muller to capitalize on after putting 12 shots on goal versus Korea.
Japan goalie Nana Fujimoto turned away 24 of the 26 shots she faced in the loss to Sweden, and she's expected to face another flurry from the Swiss attack, led by Muller and Lara Stadler.
Stadler came into the Olympics as Switzerland's attacker to watch, but her two goals and one assist in the opener pale in comparison to Muller's numbers.
Will Sweden Find Same Attacking Success Switzerland Did Against Korea?
Sweden needs every ounce of confidence and momentum heading into the top-of-the-table clash with Switzerland to conclude pool play.
The good news for the Swedes is they have Korea next up on the schedule, and they are more than capable of matching Switzerland's offensive output from their game against the hosts.
Fanny Rask, who scored Sweden's first goal, and Rebecca Stenberg were the most active players in front of the net against Japan, as they totaled five and four shots, respectively.
Look for those two and Winberg to put pressure on the Korea defense from the opening horn.
Korea will enter the ice to play for pride after the eight-goal defeat to Switzerland. If the hosts can hang with Sweden for a period, they will gain some much-needed confidence.
However, the more likely outcome for Monday's game is for Sweden to rack up a ton of shots on goal and benefit from its offensive pressure early in the first period.
If everything goes to plan for Sweden, it will leave the ice with a win comparable to what Switzerland earned Saturday.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
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