Winter Olympics 2018: Primetime TV schedule and live stream info for Friday, Feb. 16

Thursday night was not one of the United States’ finest Winter Olympics hours. Nathan Chen, America’s best hope for a men’s figure skating gold, stumbled to 17th place in the short program. Mikaela Shiffrin, battling a compacted Alpine skiing schedule caused by high winds earlier in the week, failed to medal in the women’s slalom, her best event. And decorated X Games veteran Lindsey Jacobellis did not medal in the snowboard cross.

But that’s OK. It’s a new day and another opportunity. NBC will broadcast its primetime coverage beginning at 8 p.m. ET, with live event coverage of the men’s free skate pairing with recorded coverage of women’s aerials skiing and women’s skeleton, which occurred Friday morning East Coast time.

A bit of the buildup to the men’s figure skating free skate was lost on Thursday night when Chen struggled through his short program. The adage that you can’t win a gold medal in the short form but you can lose one seems again at work. American Adam Rippon, fast becoming a fan favorite, had the USA’s best showing, but even that was just seventh place, more than 16 points back of a medal position. America’s youngest men’s competitor, Vincent Zhou, did make a bit of a name for himself by landing the competition’s first quad early in the night. Still, entering the free skate in 12th makes him unlikely to medal as well.

Women’s super-G won’t boast the star power it would normally have either. Shiffrin announced she withdrew from the competition due to the expedited schedule. Heading into Pyeongchang, the 22-year-old had hoped to compete for five gold medals. However, 33-year-old Lindsey Vonn, trying to prove she’s still got it after one of the best Alpine skiing careers in history, will be there looking for redemption after missing the 2014 games in Sochi due to an injury.