Canada vs. France Men’s Olympic Hockey: Preliminary Preview Odds and Prediction
Team Canada has already secured top spot in Group A of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament, but there’s still a lot to play for when they close out the preliminary round against France on Sunday.
Canada is 2-0 in the tournament after 5-0 and 5-1 wins over Czechia and Switzerland, respectively. With top spot in Group A locked down, the Canadians will now look for the top overall seed in the tournament, which will likely come down to goal-differential.
France is in the opposite spot after losing 4-0 to Switzerland and 6-3 to Czechia. The French are on track to finish with the lowest seed, which means they will play in the qualification playoffs for a spot in the quarterfinals regardless of the result on Sunday.
Canada is a massive +10,000 favourite to win, with the puckline set at 5.5 and the total pegged at 7.5. France is a +3300 underdog.
Make sure to check out Sports Interaction’s complete list of Olympic hockey game odds, Olympic hockey futures and Olympic hockey specials and props.
Canada vs. France Men’s Olympic Hockey Betting Odds
Canada has a storied Olympic men’s hockey past as the record holder for both total medals (16) and gold medals (nine). The country is searching for its third straight gold medal in Olympic tournaments with NHL participation.
On the other hand, this will be just the 11th time France has qualified for the Olympics and first since 2002 Salt Lake City. This is a good test run for France, who automatically qualify for the 2030 French Alps Olympics as hosts.
Given these nations respective Olympic hockey background, it’s no surprise to see them at opposite ends of the oddsboard. Canada is a -125 favourite to win gold, while France is tied with host Italy for the longest odds at +100,000 each.
If you’re looking for some player props, Nathan MacKinnon is a +140 favourite to be Canada’s top tournament goal scorer, followed by Macklin Celebrini (+270) and Connor McDavid (+290). Through two games, MacKinnon and Celebrini each have two goals, while McDavid is tied for the tournament lead in points with six.
Team Canada
It was another dominant performance from Team Canada on Friday, with MacKinnon, McDavid, Celebrini, Sidney Crosby and Thomas Harley all finding the back of the net. Logan Thompson was also solid in net, turning aside 24 of 25 shots faced.
Head coach Jon Cooper went to the nuclear option for the back half of the game, loading up his top line with McDavid, MacKinnon and Celebrini. Cooper swapped out Tom Wilson for MacKinnon and the line dominated the flow of play for the rest of the game. It’s a trio you will likely see back together if Canada finds themselves desperate for offence.
You should see Jordan Binnington back in net for the rest of the tournament after his opening-game shutout. Brad Marchand is also expected to draw back into the lineup after Seth Jarvis took his place against Czechia. Defenceman Josh Morrissey will not play against France, but Cooper was adamant in saying Morrissey’s tournament is not over.
Team France
France gave Czechia a bit of a scare on Friday, scoring three times in the first six minutes of the second period to take a 3-2 lead. It was short-lived success, however, as France allowed four unanswered goals the rest of the way. Overall, the French were outshot 38-12 by Czechia and they have been outshot 81-38 through two games.
Louis Boudon has been the MVP for France, at least offensively. Boudon, who plays for Mikkelin Jukurit of the top Finnish league, factored in on all of France’s scoring with two goals and an assist. The 27-year-old actually began the season in North America, racking up 30 points (12G, 18A) in 25 ECHL games before going back to Europe.
It’s not clear who will be in net for France against Canada. My guess would be Antoine Keller gets the nod after he started the first game against Switzerland and stopped 39 of 43 shots faced. Martin Neckar allowed all six goals against Czechia on 26 shots faced, while Julian Junca stopped all 12 shots he faced in relief.
Canada vs. France Prediction
Canada: 8, France: 0
Best bet: Hammer the Over 7.5 (+105). The second overall seed will likely have a much tougher matchup in the quarterfinals against Sweden or Finland, so Canada won’t go easy with goal differential playing such a big role.