United States will face 'hardest game' of Olympics against Sweden in quarterfinals

NHL players are competing at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, the first time in 12 years that they’ve been on this global stage. In order to provide an inside look at the experience, NHL.com has enlisted former Olympic players, coaches and others around the game to share their insights. Today, Dan Bylsma, who was the head coach of Team USA at the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

As Team USA gets set to face Team Sweden in what will be its most difficult test to date on Wednesday (3:10 p.m ET; Peacock, NBC, ICI Télé, CBC Gem, SN), I was reminded of a conversation I had with Jussi Jokinen back in the 2013-14 season.

I was the coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins at the time and Jussi was a forward on the team. He’d won a silver medal with Team Finland at the 2006 Torino Olympics, so he knew what you had to do to be successful at the Games.

I had been named the coach of Team USA for the 2014 Sochi Olympics and wanted to pick Jussi’s brain regarding the entire Olympic experience. One thing he said at that time still sticks with me to this day.

“The hardest game and the biggest game you’ll have and the most nervous you’ll be will be the quarterfinal game,” he said.

Exactly the situation Team USA finds itself in after Team Sweden defeated Team Latvia 5-1 in the qualification playoffs on Tuesday.

Here’s a deeper dive into what Jussi was referring to.

Obviously, when you get to the quarterfinals, there’s a lot of pressure to get to the gold medal game. And I think in a tournament like this, there’s not a lot of pressure for teams like Team USA and Team Canada in the preliminary round. Sure, you want to try to get the best seeding possible and goal differential matters, but you do have a bit of wiggle room.

You’re probably going to win. To be blunt: You should win.

Now, come the quarterfinals, it’s a different story.

It’s all happened so quickly to get to this point. And now, suddenly, it’s do-or-die. It’s win or go home.

If you look back at previous Olympics, you'll see there have been some tough matchups in the quarterfinals. It’s no different this time around. Team Sweden versus Team USA. Team Czechia versus Team Canada. There are no easy outs. Win or go home.

In this case, Team USA is playing a squad in Team Sweden that many thought, before the tournament began, had a legitimate shot at a gold medal. Now one of them won't even have a shot at playing for a medal of any color.

Both teams understand that, and I can guarantee you this: both wish the puck would be dropped right now instead of waiting around and thinking about it.

I know the feeling. It’s what I went through in 2014 when we were preparing to face the Czech Republic in the quarterfinals.

I’ll admit it, I was nervous. It’s not a bad thing to say.

We ended up beating the Czech Republic 5-2 in what was a relatively stress-free game. The same can’t be said for the lead-in.

In the case of Team USA on Wednesday, it could look to the fact that it has arguably the best goalie in the world in Connor Hellebuyck backstopping a team that oozes talent throughout all four lines and three defense pairs. It's as deep a team as anyone in this event.

Still, when they look across to the other end in warmups, they’ll see Victor Hedman and Erik Karlsson and Rasmus Dahlin and William Nylander and think, "Wow, there’s some star power over there."

Which there is.

I think the key for Team USA is continuing to improve and sticking to its system. The team has been effective on the forecheck, and being physical against the likes of Dahlin and Karlsson shift after shift after shift will take a toll on them as the game progresses.

In a nutshell, the tournament now comes down to 60 minutes, barring overtime, for both teams. There will be some crazy stuff that happens. There always is. You have to stay focused, you can’t let yourself chase the game. Not in a one-and-done.

At this point in the tournament, with so much on the line, you have to believe.

And then you have to go out and play like you do.