World Junior Hockey Championship Prediction: Canada vs. Slovakia

Andrew Rogers
Last Updated: December 27, 2020

Canada looks to continue its run to a title repeat Sunday as it tangles with Slovakia in round-robin action at the World Junior Hockey Championship in Edmonton. Canada crushed the Germans 16-2 in their tournament opener, while Slovakia is coming off a 1-0 win over Switzerland.

2021 IIHF World Junior Championship Odds

Just how one-sided are oddsmakers expecting this game to be? They’ve set the puckline at Canada -5.5 goals – and the hosts are still a whopping -294 even at that gigantic spread. Of course, when you’re coming off a 14-goal triumph in your previous game, that has a major impact on the future betting picture. And it doesn’t hurt that the Canadians have dominated the head-to-head series, winning eight straight while outscoring Slovakia 49-10 in that span.

The total for this game is a sky-high 7.5, with the Over at a whopping -250 (again based on the assumption that the Canadians will rack up the goals). The previous four head-to-head meetings have fallen below that total, mainly because Slovakia has scored just two total goals over that stretch. Only two of Canada’s previous eight WJHC tournament games (exhibitions contests included) have produced eight or more goals.

Here’s a look at the Sports Interaction World Junior Hockey Championship odds board,

Team Slovakia

Slovakia deserves full credit for defeating a superior opponent on the strength of quality defence and goaltending. Simon Latkoczy turned aside all 28 shots he faced while Roman Faith scored the game’s lone goal with less than six minutes remaining. Slovakia produced 32 shots in the win over Switzerland but would be fortunate to generate half that many against a Canada team that surrendered just 13 shots in the victory over Germany.

Team Canada

Look for Canadian player props to be all the rage Sunday after a Boxing Day fireworks display. And the Dylan Cozens 2+ goal prop could be one of the more popular ones after the Buffalo Sabres prospect erupted for three goals and three assists in the win over Germany. Cozens had just two goals in seven games at last year’s tournament, but has been a consistent scoring threat during his time with the Lethbridge Hurricanes of the Western Hockey League.