2026 Olympic Semifinal Preview: Canada vs. Switzerland

How They Got Here

Canada defeated a disciplined German team 5-1 in their quarterfinal to advance to the semifinals. Switzerland was outshot and outchanced by Finland, but Andrea Brändli stopped all 40 shots, Alina Müller fired home a loose puck off a draw, and the Swiss advanced with a 1-0 win.

Monday's semi-final won't be the first meeting for these two teams in these Olympic Games. In their first meeting in this tournament, Canada resoundingly beat Switzerland, 4-0. Saskia Maurer was in the net for Switzerland in that game, and she was fantastic, stopping 51 of Canada's 55 shots. The Swiss offense wasn't able to muster much, finishing with only six shots for the game. Defensively, however, Switzerland was able to frustrate Canada; the score was 1-0 heading into the third period, and only one of Canada's goals was scored at even strength.

Players to Watch

Sarah Fillier

Marie-Philip Poulin's status has received the bulk of the attention, and rightfully so, but Sarah Fillier has quietly put together a stellar tournament in her second Olympic Games. Fillier is tied for the team lead in scoring with six points in five games, and she's tied for the team lead with three goals. Head coach Troy Ryan has leaned on Fillier; she's leading Canadian forwards in average time on ice, and she's delivered offensively. Fillier has also been a big part of Canada's top-ranked power play at this tournament, which is currently clicking at 41.18%. It was Canada's power play that broke the game open in the first meeting between these two teams, scoring the first three goals en route to the 4-0 Canadian win.

Fillier has spent the majority of this tournament playing alongside Daryl Watts, who's also been fantastic for Canada. Watts is tied with Fillier for the team lead with six points, and she sits second, just behind Fillier in terms of time on ice for Canadian forwards.

Alina Müller

If Switzerland is going to pull off another upset, Andrea Brändli will once again need to be outstanding in goal, but someone is also going to have to score. So far in this tournament, Alina Müller has been the best Swiss forward by some margin. Competing in her fourth Olympic Games, Müller leads Switzerland with three goals and four points in five games. At just 27 years old, Müller has scored 15 goals in her Olympic career.

Outside of Müller, offense has been hard to come by for Switzerlad. As a team, Switzerland has only scored five goals in its five games at these Olympics, and three of them came in the shootout win over Czechia. Müller is the only forward with multiple goals, and only two other forwards, Lara Stalder and Rahel Enzler, have multiple points.

One reason for the lack of offense has been a struggling power play. Switzerland has scored one power play goal in this tournament, that goal coming courtesy of Alina Müller in the 4-3 shootout win over Czechia. With even-strength offense likely hard to come by against Canada, Switzerland will need to see an improvement in their power play if they are going to score enough goals to beat Canada.

Prediction

Canada soundly beat Switzerland in game one, and I see no reason they shouldn't be able to repeat the feat. They are the heavy favorite.

The path to victory for Switzerland is narrow but not impossible. In net, Andrea Brändli will need to repeat Saskia Maurer's performance against Canada from earlier in the tournament, if not be even better. The penalty kill will need to be perfect; so far in this tournament, it's been far from it, currently sitting at 66.67%. Lastly, Switzerland is going to have to score, and more than once, something they have only done once before in this tournament. If it happens, expect Alina Müller's name all over the scoresheet, but it would be a great game for veteran Lara Stalder or rising star Ivana Wey to score their first goals of this tournament.

I expect this one to play out very similarly to the first meeting; Switzerland should be able to keep it close, but Canada's offense will be too much for Brändli and the Swiss defense. Switzerland's offensive struggles will be magnified, and in the end, I think it will be a comfortable Canadian victory.