After the USA Women earned a gold medal at the Olympic Winter Games, the Men’s squad will look to match them. Team USA will play against Slovakia in the semifinals at 3:10 pm ET today. Before that one, it’ll be Canada against Finland for the other ticket to the gold medal game. Let’s talk about both games and add a best bet for each below.
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Friday’s Best Winter Olympics Bets
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
Finland vs. Canada (Men’s Hockey)
Canada survived a scare in its latest quarterfinal against Czechia. The Canadians tied the game late and earned an overtime victory to move on to this game. Clearly, Canada is beatable, despite its 4-0 record.
That said, Finland also needed an overtime win to advance. Finland trailed Switzerland, 2-0, but earned a 3-2 victory in overtime.
Both teams were clutch down the stretch to advance.
Canada is the clear favorite in this one. They’ve got all the depth, but maybe that offensive firepower isn’t as strong as expected. Meanwhile ,Finland still has NHL talent and has scored plenty of goals throughout the tournament.
Sure, these teams get tight in big moments, but both teams are very capable of scoring goals quickly. I’m grabbing the Over 5.5.
Pick: Over 5.5 Goals (-105)
Slovakia vs. USA (Men’s Hockey)
The United States added a thrilling win over Sweden in its quarterfinal. Many laughed at Canada’s struggles, only for the USA to face the same struggles later that day. Anyway, like Canada and Finland, the United States figured it out in overtime and earned a game-winner by Quinn Hughes.
The United States won’t allow many shots. There also won’t be many breakdowns by the United States. Don’t expect Slovakia to find many easy chances in this game.
Still, Slovakia has surprised some folks. In the quarterfinals, Slovakia earned a 6-2 win over Germany, and was the only team to win in regulation. That counts for something. They’ve scored at a solid rate and have played well, but the United States is a whole other animal.
I’ll grab the Under 5.5 (+114) with the expectation that Slovakia’s offense finally slows down against the USA.
Pick: Under 5.5 Goals (+114)
