Canada vs. Sweden Quarterfinal Prediction: 2022 Olympic Men’s Hockey Odds
It’s win or go home for Canada as they get set for a tough test against Sweden in the quarterfinals of the 2022 Beijing Olympic men’s hockey tournament. Puck drop is Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. EST.
Canada reached the quarters through the qualification round by knocking off host China for the second time in 48 hours, 7-2 on Tuesday. Sweden advanced directly to the quarters by finishing as the highest rank second-place team following the preliminary round.
You can check out all of the Olympic hockey odds here.
Canada vs. Sweden Olympic Odds and Betting
As it stands, Canada, Sweden and the United States are all listed at +603 to win the tournament. They trail Finland at +301 and the tournament favourite Russian Olympic Committee at +176.
The Canadians are a bit of a mystery right now. They finished the preliminary round 2-1-0 and advanced through the qualification round, but their only real test came in a losing effort against the U.S. Two of Canada’s three wins are against China, with the third coming against Germany.
A late game comeback from Finland in the final game of the preliminary round cost Sweden top spot in Group C, but they still advanced directly to the quarters thanks to an overtime point. Sweden had already dispatched Latvia and Slovakia when they faced the Finns. The Swedes took a 3-0 lead into the third period, before Finland rallied for a three-goal final frame and ended the game in overtime.
Team Canada
The start of the last contest against China was a little too close for comfort and leaves some reservations about this Canadian team. Canada gave up several early chances to the Chinese, including two breakaways and a penalty shot in the first six minutes. Matt Tomkins turned each of those chances aside, eventually making 27 saves on 29 shots. Adam Tambellini’s five points effort (2G, 3A) against China now gives him the tournament lead in scoring with seven points (4G, 3A). Jordan Weal also added two goals, while Eric O’Dell had one and Eric Staal and Jack McBain each recorded their first goals of the tournament. Maxim Noreau added three assists. Jason Demers leads the tournament in plus/minus at +7.
Head coach Claude Julien has a big decision in net. It would be a quick turnaround against Sweden for Tomkins, who has played the last two games. Edward Pasquale played the first two games, but he’s been off since the 4-2 loss against the U.S., which is a long six-day gap. Both goalies have given Canada a chance to win, but neither has looked capable of stealing a game.
Team Sweden
It was a tale of two teams for Sweden against their fierce rival, Finland, in the preliminary round. The Swedes outshot the Finns 17-3 in the second period and buried three power-play goals, before being outshot 14-3 in the third and losing the game in overtime. Lucas Wallmark, Lukas Bengtsson and Anton Lander scored the Swedish goals. Wallmark leads the tournament with four goals. Defencemen Henrik Tommernes and Jonathan Pudas each had two assists against Finland. Magnus Hellberg made 23 saves on 27 shots against the Finns and stopped 40 of 41 shots against Slovakia. Lars Johansson started the first game of the tournament, making 15 saves on 17 shots.
Canada vs. Sweden Score Prediction
Canada 4
Sweden 3