2018 Olympics: Odds, Schedule, Medal Favorites and Predictions for Monday
The United States must wait until Monday night for its next chance to bring home medals at the 2018 Winter Olympics.
The prime-time events, which take place Tuesday morning in Pyeongchang, South Korea, could boost the United States as high as fourth in the medal count.
The women's halfpipe in freestyle skiing features Monday's first American opportunity to win multiple medals, as three of the top six qualifiers represent the red, white and blue.
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If the performances from the ice dance short program in the figure skating are replicated in the free dance, the United States is expected to take bronze. But an upgrade could occur if one of two American pairs marvels in the second half of the competition like their teammates did in the men's event.
Odds for Monday's Events (via OddsShark)
Odds (via Oddschecker)
Bobsled 2-Man
Nico Walther (Germany, 6-4)
Justin Kripps (Canada, 3-1)
Johannes Lochner (Germany, 4-1)
Francesco Friedrich (Germany, 6-1)
Ski Jumping Men's Team Final
Norway (1-5)
Germany (9-2)
Poland (6-1)
Austria (66-1)
Slovenia (80-1)
Japan (100-1)
Czech Republic (500-1)
Finland (500-1)
Switzerland (500-1)
United States (500-1)
Monday Olympic Schedule
Bobsled
2-man Heat 3 and 4 (6:15 a.m. ET, final at 8 a.m. ET)
Curling
Men's Pool Play
Great Britain vs. Norway (7:05 p.m. ET)*
Japan vs. Canada (7:05 p.m. ET)*
South Korea vs. Switzerland (7:05 p.m. ET)*
Italy vs. Sweden (7:05 p.m. ET)*
Figure Skating
Ice dance free dance (8 p.m. ET)*
Freestyle Skiing
Women's halfpipe (8:30 p.m. ET)*
Ice Hockey
Women's Semifinal: Canada vs. Olympic Athletes from Russia (7:10 a.m. ET)
Men's Playoff Round: United States vs. Slovakia (10:10 p.m. ET)*
Women's Classification Game: Sweden vs. Korea (10:10 p.m. ET)*
Ski Jumping
Men's team event (7:30 a.m. ET, final at 8:36 a.m. ET)
*Event takes place on Tuesday, February 20, in Pyeongchang, South Korea
Medal Favorites and Predictions
Bobsled 2-Man
There's a real chance for the Germans to sweep the two-man bobsled final Monday after runs three and four take place at the Olympic Sliding Center.
The sled driven by Nico Walther had the best time in the second run by seven-hundredths of a second over the second German sled run by Johannes Lochner.
The third German sled in the standings is led by Francesco Friedrich and was 19 hundredths of a second behind Walther and partner Christian Poser.
Canada holds the best non-German sled, as driver Justin Kripps and Alexander Kopacz took second and third in the first two runs.
Latvia's Oskars Melbardis and Janis Strenga set the track record of 49.08 seconds in the first run, but they were 10th the second time down the course.
The top American duo of Justin Olsen and Eric Weinstock sit 12th in the overall standings, and they're seen as an outside medal contender if they put together two of the best runs of their respective careers.
Prediction: 1. Walther/Poser (Germany), 2. Lochner/Weber (Germany), 3. Kripps/Kopacz (Canada)
Men's Ski Jumping Team Event
The final ski jumping event of the Olympics features a showdown between Norway, Germany, Poland and Austria in the men's team event.
Germany is led by Andreas Wellinger, who won the normal hill and took silver in the large hill, while Norway boasts a roster anchored by two-time Pyeongchang medalist Robert Johannsson.
Poland can't be counted out with the presence of long hill champion Kamil Stoch in the squad, while the always deep Austrians have a chance to sneak on to the podium.
The United States isn't seen as a medal contender in this event.
Prediction: 1. Norway, 2. Germany, 3. Austria
Figure Skating Ice Dance
The competition for all three medal positions is wide open entering the free dance portion of the ice dance.
Canada's Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir, who won the team event to start the figure skating schedule in Pyeongchang, sit in first following the short dance with a score of 83.67.
Gabriella Papadakis and Guillaume Cizeron of France are second with the only other score over 80 points at 81.93.
Madison Hubbell and Zachary Donohue were the best American pair during the short program, as they took third with a mark of 77.75. Alex and Maia Shibutani are two-hundredths of a point behind their teammates in fourth.
In total, there are six teams jostling for the bronze that are separated by 3.5 points or less. Unless something goes wrong in the free dance for Virtue and Moir and Papadakis and Cizeron, the remaining pairs will be fighting for one medal.
Prediction: 1. Virtue/Moir (Canada), 2. Papadakis/Cizeron (France), 3. Shibutani/Shibutani (United States)
Freestyle Skiing Women's Halfpipe
A trio of Americans are in Monday night's ski halfpipe final, but only one of them sits in a medal position following qualifying.
Brita Sigourney enters the final three runs as the third-best qualifier behind Canada's Cassie Sharpe and France's Marie Martinod.
Annalisa Drew and Maddie Bowman are the other American challengers for the podium, and if they lay down the gauntlet early, it could set the tone for a rare sweep by the United States in Pyeongchang.
Bowman is the Olympic champion in the event that's being contested for the second time at the Olympics, while Martinod has a silver from Sochi in her trophy case.
Prediction: 1. Sigourney (United States), 2. Bowman (United States), 3. Martinod (France)
Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.
Statistics obtained from Olympic.org unless otherwise noted.
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