NBC Olympics Schedule 2018: Event Guide, Live-Stream Info and Tuesday Picks
Two of the United States' top Olympians are expected to win gold on Tuesday night (Wednesday morning in Pyeongchang, South Korea).
Shaun White and Mikaela Shiffrin will take the American audience by storm with their performances in the men's halfpipe and women's slalom, respectively.
White is looking to extend his dominance in the halfpipe, an event he's won twice before at the Olympics, and enters as the top qualifier.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
Shiffrin broke on to the stage in 2014 with a victory in the slalom, and she's hoping a repeat of her gold from Sochi is the start of one of the most historic medal hauls in Winter Olympics history.
In addition to White and Shiffrin's showcase events, figure skating returns to primetime with the start of the pairs competition, while curling and women's ice hockey also take place on Tuesday night.
Tuesday Night Event Guide
Men's Curling (7:05 p.m. ET)
Canada vs. Italy
South Korea vs. United States
Great Britain vs. Switzerland
Denmark vs. Sweden
Figure Skating
Pairs Short Program (8 p.m. ET)
Alpine Skiing
Women's Slalom (Run 1, 8:45 p.m. ET; Run 2, 11:45 p.m. ET)
Snowboarding
Men's Halfpipe (8:30 p.m. ET)
Ice Hockey
Women's Group B: Sweden vs. Switzerland (10:10 p.m. ET)
All events can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com.
Medal Predictions
Men's Snowboarding Halfpipe
The men's halfpipe is lining up to be one of the best competitions in Pyeongchang.
White, Scotty James of Australia and Japan's Ayumu Hirano put on a show in the two qualifying runs on Monday, with each member of the trio one-upping each other.
James appeared to have the top mark after a monstrous second run that garnered a score of 96.75, but White immediately responded with a mark of 98.50 to top the standings heading into the final.
Hirano's performance was a bit overshadowed by those of White and James, but he's right up there in the standings as well after a second-run score of 95.25.
To have three riders over 95 in qualifying, and a fourth over 90 in American Ben Ferguson, is absurd, and it sets up for a showdown of epic proportions involving tricks that haven't been tried in Olympic competition.
Given how the qualifying round went, it wouldn't come as a shock if one of the three riders throws down a perfect score, with White being the most likely to do so since he drops into the halfpipe last.
Prediction: 1. Shaun White (United States), 2. Scotty James (Australia), 3. Ayumu Hirano (Japan)
Women's Slalom
Shiffrin's ascension to the Olympic alpine skiing throne starts on Tuesday with the defense of her slalom gold.
The 22-year-old, who has won the slalom at the last three World Championships, leaves the starting gate third in the first run of the competition, and she's expected to set the leading mark.
With a victory on Tuesday, Shiffrin will achieve a few different milestones. She would become the first man or woman to earn a repeat title in the slalom event and the first American to win multiple golds in a single alpine skiing event, per FIS-Ski.com.
Shiffrin currently holds an advantage of 175 points over Slovakia's Petra Vlhova in the World Cup standings, and if there is a challenger to her title, it is Vlhova, who will be the first skier on course.
Other medal contenders include Sweden's Frida Hansdotter and Switzerland's Wendy Holdener, who are third and fourth, respectively, in the World Cup standings.
Bernadette Schlid, the younger sister of two-time Olympic runner-up Marlies Schlid, could also factor into the medal discussion.
Prediction: 1. Mikaela Shiffrin (United States), 2. Frida Hansdotter (Sweden), 3. Petra Vlhova (Slovakia)
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from Olympic.org unless otherwise noted.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
