US Olympic Hockey Team 2018: Updated Predictions for Men's Team

Group play wasn't kind to the United States ice hockey team at the 2018 Winter Olympics. The squad lost to Slovenia in overtime, was blown out by the Olympic Athletes from Russia and eked out a 2-1 win over Slovakia.

That doesn't mean the United States is out of medal contention. Far from it. But it does mean the team has quite the uphill battle in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

First is a rematch with Slovakia on Tuesday. Win that, and the United States will take on the Czech Republic the next day, a team that has yet to lose in this tournament (two wins, one overtime win). Win that, and the U.S. will find themselves in the semifinals, where winning one of two games will guarantee a medal.

But here's the thing. Barring a pretty huge upset, the United States' opponent in the semifinals will be the Russian team, which already beat the Americans, 4-0, and is 2-1 in total. Lose that, and the U.S. will likely face either Canada or Sweden for a bronze medal. Sweden is a perfect 3-0. Canada has two wins and an overtime loss.

The United States will be favored to beat Slovakia. But the team will be underdogs against the Czechs and against the Russians. Team USA will be underdogs if it faces either Sweden or Canada and even Finland, should the Finnish pull off an upset over Canada in the quarterfinals.

A medal for the United States, at this point, is a longshot. Consider the goal differential of the teams remaining in the tournament: 

• OAR: +9
• Sweden: +7
• Canada: +7
• Finland: +5
• Czech Republic: +5
• Switzerland: +1
• Slovakia: -1
• Germany: -3
• Slovenia: -4
• United States: -4
• Norway: -9
• Republic of Korea: -13

Could this team go all Miracle on Ice and shock the world? Maybe. But honestly, probably not.

The Russians have former NHL stars like Pavel Datsyuk and Ilya Kovalchuk leading the way, and the entire roster hails from the Kontinental Hockey League, arguably the second best league in the world behind the NHL.

The Swedes, meanwhile, have 11 KHL players and a future NHL superstar in 17-year-old Rasmus Dahlin.  Canada has a greater number of former NHL talents. The Czechs are loaded with KHL players.

Outside of Canada, no team was hurt more by the NHL's decision to not participate in the Pyeongchang games than the United States—a decision that remains unpopular with fans of the sport:

It was certainly evident in the group stage that the Americans are on the outside looking in when it comes to the medal chase. So, what is the official prediction for the U.S.?

The team will beat Slovakia for a second time before losing to the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals, failing to medal at these games. There will be no miracles for the United States on the Pyeongchang ice.

As for the overall tournament, look for the Russian team to win gold, Sweden silver and Canada bronze.