"The final two games of the 2026 women's Olympic hockey tournament are upon us. The first of those two games will see Sweden, who finished group play in first place and provided a defensive masterclass against Czechia to reach the medal rounds, will take on a Swiss team that finished in last place in Group A before narrowly escaping Finland in the quarterfinal round and losing to Canada by just one goal in the semifinal round."
"While the goaltending hasn't exactly been stellar for Switzerland, Saskia Maurer has done well to provide quality performances for her team; she was in goal for the first of Switzerland's competitive losses to Canada, where she stopped all but four of Canada's fifty-five shots. As for Andrea Brändli, despite being in net for the 5-0 loss to the United States, she did secure a shutout performance in the quarterfinal round against Finland."
"Despite getting shut out against the United States, they had previously outscored each of their group stage opponents by at least three goals. The picture did shift in the knockouts; though the Swedes kept the shot count close, they could not find a way to capitalize on their offensive opportunities, scoring just twice through their first two knockout round games."
Sweden finished group play in first place and advanced after a defensive masterclass against Czechia. Switzerland finished last in Group A before narrowly escaping Finland in the quarterfinals and losing to Canada by a single goal in the semifinal. Switzerland is favored largely because of goaltending, with Saskia Maurer making key saves and Andrea Brändli securing a quarterfinal shutout despite a heavy loss to the United States. Sweden produced strong group-stage scoring but struggled in knockout play, scoring only twice across two games. Switzerland generated minimal offence, scoring five group goals and only two in the knockouts while being dominated in shots.
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