Winter Olympics 2018 Schedule: Live Stream, TV Start Times for Friday
After a night full of disappointment in alpine skiing and figure skating, the United States is hoping Lindsey Vonn can help it recover in the 2018 Winter Olympics medal count.
The Americans were supposed to take home gold in the women's slalom through Mikaela Shiffrin and set themselves for a high-podium finish in men's figure skating by way of Nathan Chen on Thursday, but both athletes suffered disappointing performances.
With Shiffrin taking the women's Super-G off to rest and Chen out of medal contention, the pressure is on the shoulders of Vonn to bring the United States back into the medal spotlight.
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Although his competition isn't over, Chen needs a miracle greater than that of the 1980 United States men's hockey team to even have a chance to medal.
Outside of Vonn, the United States has an opportunity to reach the medal positions in women's aerials on Friday morning.
Friday TV Start Times
NBCSN (2:40 a.m. ET)
Men's Hockey: Olympic Athletes from Russia vs. Slovenia
Curling: Assorted group matches
NBCSN (9:30 a.m. ET)
Coverage includes skeleton, speed skating, ski jumping and curling.
NBCSN (5 p.m. ET)
Coverage includes hockey, figure skating and curling.
NBC (3 p.m. ET)
Coverage includes ski jumping, speed skating and cross-country skiing.
NBC (8 p.m. ET)
Events include figure skating, alpine skiing and more
CNBC (5 p.m. ET)
United States vs. Denmark men's curling.
CNBC (10 p.m. ET)
Women's hockey quarterfinal
Live-Stream Events
Curling
Women's round-robin games (12:05 a.m. ET)
Men's round-robin games (6:05 a.m. ET)
Women's round-robin play (7:05 p.m. ET)
Cross Country-Skiing
Men's 15-kilometer free (1 a.m. ET)
Ice Hockey
Olympic Athletes from Russia vs. Slovenia men's pool play (2:40 a.m. ET)
Sweden vs. Germany, Finland vs. Norway in men's pool play (7:10 a.m. ET)
Canada vs. Czech Republic in men's pool play (10:10 p.m. ET)*
Olympic Athletes of Russia vs. Switzerland in women's quarterfinals (10:10 p.m. ET)*
Speed Skating
Women's 5,000 meters (6 a.m. ET)
Freestyle Skiing
Women's aerials (6 a.m. ET; final begins at 6:52 a.m. ET)
Women's slopestyle (11 p.m. ET; final begins at 11:56 p.m. ET)*
Skeleton
Women's heats 1 and 2 (7:30 a.m. ET)
Ski Jumping
Men's large hill qualification (7:30 a.m. ET)
Figure Skating
Men's free skate (8 p.m. ET)*
Alpine Skiing
Women's Super-G (9 p.m. ET)*
*Indicates event occurs on Saturday, February 17 in Pyeongchang, South Korea
All events can be live-streamed on NBCOlympics.com.
Vonn Makes Pyeongchang Debut in Super-G
Vonn is expected to capture all of the American attention on the slopes on Friday night.
The 33-year-old, who won bronze in the Super-G in Vancouver, enters Friday as the 10th-best competitor in the event in the World Cup standings.
Although the downhill is Vonn's specialty, she finished first in the last World Cup Super-G she competed in on January 26 in Lenzerheide, Switzerland.
In addition to her win from January, Vonn captured gold in the Super-G in Val d'Isere, France, on December 17 this season.
Outside of those two victories, Vonn's results have been mixed; she has placed sixth, ninth and 24th in three other World Cup events.
Vonn is more than capable of capturing her second Olympic gold, but she'll face a stiff fight from Switzerland's Lara Gut, Tina Weirather of Liechtenstein and others.
Chen Trying to Salvage Poor Olympic Experience
Without a chance to medal, Chen needs to find a way to end his Olympic campaign on a high note.
The 18-year-old enters the men's free skate in 17th place as the worst-ranked American skater behind Adam Rippon and Vincent Zhou.
No one envies the mental recovery Chen will be forced to make in less than 24 hours to perform during the free skate, but he's going to have to display strength on the ice to send a message that he won't leave Pyeongchang with his head hanging low.
The realistic goal for the teenager is to shoot for the top 10, which is something he can achieve given the difficulty of his free skate.
He can also shoot to become the top American in the standings since his free skate is more technical than Rippon's, but the 28-year-old could thrive on Friday since he's having the time of his life on the ice with no pressure attached to him.
American Women In Search of Aerials Medals
Although three-time Olympian Ashley Caldwell didn't qualify for the women's aerials final, the United States still has two chances to medal in the high-flying event.
Kiley McKinnon and Madison Olsen qualified for Friday's final by placing fifth and sixth, respectively, in the second qualification round.
Both athletes are first-time Olympians, with McKinnon having more success on her resume from international events. She finished second at the 2015 World Championships and earned a fourth-place finish two years later.
The 22-year-old has a World Cup victory on her resume from Moscow this season, but since her January 6 triumph, McKinnon has placed in the top 10 once in three competitions.
Olsen proved she is capable of challenging at the Olympics at the World Cup event in Deer Valley, Utah, where she picked up a fourth-place finish for her best result of the season.
The American pair face an uphill climb with Belarus' Alla Tsuper and Hanna Huskova as well as China's Xu Mengtao expected to be in the medal hunt, but a strong early run could change everything.
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from Olympic.org and FIS-Ski.com.
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