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Olympic Hockey 2018 Schedule, Live Stream for Tuesday's Women's Games
February 12, 2018
The United States and Canada are on a collision course for their Group A meeting Wednesday.
Before the pair of women's hockey powerhouses can focus on their meeting at the conclusion of pool play, they must take care of business Tuesday.
Both teams are 1-0 in Group A following victories Sunday. The United States defeated Finland 3-1, while Canada dispatched the Olympic Athletes from Russia 5-0.
The gold-medal favorites flip opponents for Tuesday's slate, with Canada and Finland kicking off the final day of women's-only action in ice hockey.
Tuesday Hockey Schedule
All events can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com.
Women's Group A: Canada vs. Finland (2:40 a.m. ET)
Women's Group A: United States vs. Olympic Athletes from Russia (7:10 a.m. ET)
Women's Group B: Sweden vs. Switzerland (10:10 p.m. ET) (Match being played Wednesday morning local time)
Americans Attempting to Continue Strong Offensive Performance
The U.S. won by two goals in its opener by putting together a flurry of attacking chances against Finland.
Monique Lamoureux, Kendall Coyne and Dani Cameranesi scored a goal each as the States fired off 42 shots.
Coyne explained the attacking strategy against Finland goalie Noora Raty, per Cat Hendrick of Team USA: "I mean, the objective is to score more goals than them and I think the way to do it is putting pucks on the net. Especially against a phenomenal goaltender like Noora is."
If the U.S. puts up the same number of shots against the Olympic Athletes from Russia, the margin of victory could be much larger since the Russians don't possess a strong defense like Finland.
Expect the scoring opportunities to come from a variety of players, as the U.S. possesses goal-scoring threats at every position.
The three scorers in the opener combined for 16 shots, while defender Emily Pfalzer chipped in with four shots of her own.
In total, 18 Americans took at least one shot in the victory over Finland, with Sidney Morin and Haley Skarupa being the only non-goalies to have a zero in the shots column.
If similar numbers are recorded Tuesday, the United States should cruise to a blowout victory.
Canada Looking to Break Down Stingy Finnish Defense
Canada is expected to run into the same issues the United States did against Finland.
The defending Olympic champion has the difficult task of breaking down the Finnish defense led by Raty and blueliner Jenni Hiirikoski.
Canada will most likely follow the same strategy as the U.S. as it looks to break down the Finns by creating numerous scoring opportunities.
In their victory over the Olympic Athletes from Russia, the Canadians totaled 48 shots, with Natalie Spooner leading the charge with seven attempts.
The Canadians didn't score until the second period, but they achieved their goal of setting the tone for the tournament, as Meghan Agosta pointed out, per Rob Longley of the National Post.
"It was a great start for us," Agosta said. "We didn't get frustrated at all, and in the second period we just ended up burying the chances. It was just setting the tone in general as a team."
The continuation of Sunday's performance is key for Canada with the gold-medal preview against the United States ahead.
Although Finland is a formidable opponent, the Canadians should overwhelm their Group A foe to make Wednesday's clash with the United States a tussle for first place.
Sweden, Switzerland Battling for Group B Supremacy
Sweden and Switzerland both have their eyes on first place in Group B, as an easier quarterfinal matchup awaits the winner of Tuesday night's showdown.
In the peculiar format of the women's Olympic ice hockey tournament, the Group B winner faces the fourth-placed team from Group A in the quarterfinals, while the Group B runner-up squares off against Group A's third-placed team.
The winners of those games advance to showdowns with the top two from Group A, who earn byes into the semifinal round.
Given how the results have fallen in Group A, the Group B winner should avoid Finland in the quarterfinals and face a more manageable game against the Olympic Athletes from Russia.
Sweden and Switzerland are evenly matched on paper, and the final result could come down to which star forward scores the most.
The Swiss are led by forwards Alina Muller and Lara Stadler, while Pernilla Winberg is one of Sweden's many goal-scoring threats.
Group B's best game shouldn't be a shootout given the skill on both defenses, which means the small margins created by the scorers will be an important difference.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.