NHL
Andrew Rogers
May 9, 2019

Canada vs. Finland Prediction: 2019 IIHF World Hockey Championship Odds

Canada and Finland both disappointed at last year’s IIHF World Hockey Championship – and will be looking to get off to fast starts as the 2019 edition of the showcase tournament gets underway Friday in Slovakia. The Canadian side lost to the United States in last year’s bronze-medal game and has gone two straight tournaments without a title, while the Finnish contingent stumbled to a fifth-place finish at the 2018 event in Denmark.

2019 IIHF World Hockey Championship Betting

The Canadians are hefty favourites to prevail in their tournament opener, which is not all that surprising when you consider that they’re the top team at +200 to win the championship. But while the Finns (+280) aren’t being given much of a shot of kicking off the competition with a W, it’s worth noting that they’ve won two of their past three world hockey championship matchups with Canada, including a surprising 5-1 rout at last year’s tournament.

Team Canada

Canada’s tournament entry is annually stacked with players still smarting from early Stanley Cup playoff exits – and this iteration is no exception, with a stacked forward corps led by veteran sniper Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights and young star Sean Couturier of the Philadelphia Flyers, who is coming off an impressive 76-point campaign in 2018-19. John Tavares (Toronto) suffered an oblique injury and has returned to Canada, leaving his WHC status in doubt.

The back end isn’t quite as star-studded but is no less formidable, with defencemen Darnell Nurse (Edmonton), Shea Theodore (Vegas) and Thomas Chabot (Ottawa) leading the way. There’s plenty of NHL experience in goal, as well, with Pennsylvania rivals Matt Murray (Pittsburgh) and Carter Hart (Philadelphia) expected to see the bulk of the work. Mackenzie Blackwood (New Jersey) is the team’s No. 3 goaltender.

Team Finland

Casual hockey fans will no doubt notice a significant lack of NHL talent on the Finnish roster. Up front, there is just one player who toiled for an NHL team this season: winger Juho Lammikko, who had six assists in 40 games with the Florida Panthers. There is, however, a future star on the roster in 18-year-old Kaapo Kakko, who is expected to be a top-3 pick at this year’s draft. Kakko scored the winning goal for Finland’s world junior team back in January.

The second teenager on the team happens to be the only other NHL player on the Finland roster. Blackhawks blue-liner Henri Jokiharju split time between the big club and its AHL affiliate in Rockford, finishing with 12 assists in 38 games with Chicago. The 19-year-old highlights an otherwise veteran defence corps that includes Oulun Karpat teammates Atte Ohtamaa and Jani Hakanpaa and Jokerit blue-liner Mikko Lehtonen.