We just saw the first two Men’s hockey games take place at noon today (Eastern Time). I personally watched the Sweden vs Czech Republic game and saw one of my favourites, Erik Karlsson, ripping it up on the big ice. That said, the Czechs really seemed to take over the game in the second half. I think this Czech team might actually have a chance to do something if they smarten up and put Pavelec between the pipes next game. Sweden has been my pick to win the tournament and I’m still sticking with that even though they seemed to let up slightly in the second half.
In the other game, Switzerland scored with 8 seconds left to avoid dropping a point to Latvia. The Swiss are coming off a silver medal at the World Championships and are expected to battle with some of the big boys in this tournament.
Tomorrow there are four games as we really get the Men’s Ice Hockey underway!
Finland vs Austria
This game starts at 3:00am my time so I won’t be watching it. That said I like the Finns to take it to the Austrians to show the world they should still be considered an elite team. After losing Mikko Koivu I think their chances really plummeted, but they still have the depth and goaltending to hang with the top teams, if not the scoring to really set themselves apart.
The spread in this game is 3.5 and I do like the Finns to cover the spread because they will want to start off strong. Austria has 3 NHLers on the team (Vanek, Grabner and Raffl) but the majority of their team is from the Austrian league, which isn’t one of the stronger leagues in Europe.
Play: Finland (-3.5) 1.95 (BetOnline)
Slovenia vs Russia
Russia has the most pressure of any team in these Olympics. Likely even more than Canada. They start off the tournament against a weak opponent in Slovenia and I expect them to rack up the goals. Russia has a team that is primarily built for offense. I don’t expect them to go too far in these Olympics because of their suspect defensive lineup, but they should be able to rack up the goals against weaker teams. They will be looking to make a statement in this game and to make the Russian fans happy. I expect them to cruise to an easy victory while putting the puck in the net several times.
Play: Russia (-4.5) 1.77 (5Dimes)
United States vs Slovakia
Team Slovakia will miss Marian Gaborik, but they still have a very strong team even without their star. Zdeno Chara will likely log around 30 minutes a game on defense, while Marian Hossa will be looked to for a good chunk of the offense. There are 11 NHL players on this team and the majority of the other players are playing in the KHL which is the second best league in hockey. Slovakia’s goaltending duo of Halak and Budaj will not be overwhelmed playing NHL players and I expect Slovakia to be able to stick with the USA in terms of skill.
Where Slovakia has the edge is that half of their players were already playing in Russia, and all of their players have more experience on the international ice than the American team. I think we could see an upset in this game with the Slovaks pulling out a tight victory of the USA.
Play: Slovakia 3.55 (5Dimes)
Norway vs Canada
The same reason I see Norway keeping Canada within a 4 goal spread are the reasons I mentioned about the Americans. Team Canada will need longer to adjust to both the time differential and the ice than the Norway players. Canada did defeat Norway 8-1 in their opening game of the 2010 Olympics, but I don’t expect that big of a spread tomorrow.
Play: Norway (+4.5) 2.22 (SportsInteraction)
Tagged with: Austria • Canada • Finland • Norway • Russia • Slovakia • Slovenia • USA