Ice hockey at the 1998 Winter Olympics in the context of "Ice hockey at the 1994 Winter Olympics"

The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the XVIII Olympic Winter Games (Japanese: 第18回オリンピック冬季競技大会, Hepburn: Dai Jūhachi-kai Orinpikku Tōkikyōgi Taikai) and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (Japanese: 長野1998), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events taking place in the nearby mountain communities of Hakuba, Karuizawa, Nozawa Onsen, and Yamanouchi. The city of Nagano had previously been a candidate to host the 1940 Winter Olympics (which were later cancelled), as well as the 1972 Winter Olympics, but had been eliminated at the national level by Sapporo on both occasions.

The games hosted 2,176 athletes from 72 nations competing in 7 sports and 68 events. The number of athletes and participating nations were a record at the time. The Games saw the introduction of women's ice hockey, curling and snowboarding. National Hockey League players were allowed to participate in the men's ice hockey for the first time. Azerbaijan, Kenya, Macedonia, Uruguay, and Venezuela made their debut at the Winter Olympics.

Aqua Wing Arena is a retractable roof aquatics arena in Nagano, Japan. The arena is located in the Yoshida area of the city of Nagano, in Nagano Sports Park (長野運動公園, Nagano undou kouen), 5 km northeast of Nagano Station. The closest station is Asahi Station on the Nagano Electric Railway, a distance of 1 km.

The Aqua Wing Arena was constructed as Venue B for the ice hockey events at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and was the last venue to be completed for the Games, in September 1997. Big Hat, the principal Venue A for the ice hockey competition at the 1998 Winter Olympics, is located approximately 5.3 km southwest of Aqua Wing Arena. M-Wave, the site of the speed skating events at the Games is located approximately 2.5 km south of Aqua Wing Arena.

Dominik Hašek (Czech: [ˈdomɪnɪk ˈɦaʃɛk], audio; born 29 January 1965) is a Czech former ice hockey player who was a goaltender for 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), mostly for the Buffalo Sabres. Widely regarded as one of the best goaltenders in history, Hašek also played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings, and Ottawa Senators in his NHL career before finishing his career in Europe. While in Buffalo, he became one of the league's finest goaltenders, earning him the nickname "The Dominator". His strong play has been credited with establishing European goaltenders in a league previously dominated by North Americans. He is a two-time Stanley Cup champion as a member of the Red Wings, winning his first one as the starting goaltender and his second one as the backup.

Hašek was one of the league's most successful goaltenders of the 1990s and early 2000s. From 1993 to 2001, he won six Vezina Trophies, the most under the award's current system of voting for the best individual goaltender. In 1998 he won his second consecutive Hart Memorial Trophy, becoming the first goaltender to win the award multiple times. During the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, he led the Czech national ice hockey team to its first and only Olympic gold medal. The feat made him a popular figure in his home country and prompted hockey legend Wayne Gretzky to call him "the best player in the game". While with the Red Wings in 2002, Hašek became the first European-trained starting goaltender to win the Stanley Cup. In the process, he set a record for shutouts in a postseason year.