Team USA set up to reach gold-medal round
The stage is set for a Hollywood matchup on the rink at the Vancouver Olympics. Team USA, off its upset of Canada, should make it to the Finals where the winner of the quarterfinals match between Russia and Canada likely awaits the Red, White & Blue. Will it be the hosts seeking revenge from the loss to the Yanks, or will Chris Drury and his teammates be trying to duplicate the Miracle on Ice feat against the Russians?
So far, so good for all six of the men’s hockey teams we examined in last week’s Olympic Games preview. Each of our gold-medal contenders has advanced to Wednesday’s quarterfinal round, although it took a little extra work from the host Canadians after they were upset 5-3 by Team USA (+1½, -125) on Sunday.
That forced Canada into a qualifying game against Germany (+4½, +110); that mismatch ended 8-2 in Canada’s favor. More importantly, Canada now has to play Russia in the quarterfinals, while Team USA has a relatively easy path to Sunday’s gold-medal game.
3:00 p.m. ET (Wednesday): USA vs. Switzerland
The U.S. earned a bye into the quarterfinals after winning all three of their preliminary games, starting with a 3-1 victory over Switzerland – but the Swiss were tough customers, just as they were in Turin four years ago, covering as 2½-goal underdogs at even money.
Switzerland has strong goaltending in Jonas Hiller, the proud owner of a solid .919 save percentage with the Anaheim Ducks. The Swiss also play a suffocating brand of hockey, enough to extend Canada into a shootout during the preliminaries. This is a good value team, but very likely to lose once again to the Americans in this rematch.
Ryan Miller (.930 SV% with the Buffalo Sabres) has played very well for Team USA thus far. I fully expect them to make it all the way to the gold-medal game.
7:30 p.m. ET: Russia vs. Canada
I also expect whomever wins this titanic battle to make it through the semifinals and face the United States for the gold medal. Either team would provide storybook opposition; Canada wants revenge for Sunday, while Russia wants revenge from 30 years ago and the Miracle on Ice.
Russia was the second favorite to win gold at the open with betting odds of 2-1, behind Canada at 1-1. But Russia has also picked up some bumps and bruises during this tournament, and losing 2-1 to Slovakia (+2½, +100) last week was hardly a good sign. Canada’s loss to the States can be (and has been, vociferously) blamed on goaltender Martin Brodeur, whose puckhandling gaffes led to a pair of American goals. Roberto Luongo was in net against Germany. It’s not a gimme, not even close, but Canada vs. USA for the gold isn’t a difficult choice.
10:00 p.m. ET: Finland vs. Czech Republic
This has been a rough ride for the Czechs. They were outmuscled 4-2 by Russia (-1½, +125) during the preliminaries and needed overtime to beat Latvia (+3½, -120) 3-2 and make it into the quarterfinals. As we said last week, it’s going to take something special from Tomas Vokoun (.931 SV% with the Florida Panthers) to get the Czechs to the podium, but Vokoun is indeed special.
They might have caught Finland just at the right time after that painful 3-0 loss to rival Sweden (-½, +130) on Sunday. There are some questions about the Finnish defense in front of Miikka Kiprusoff (.925 SV% with the Calgary Flames), but that extra day of rest should help their cause considerably.
12:00 a.m. ET (Thursday): Sweden vs. Slovakia
It was Sweden earning the other bye into the quarterfinals with a perfect 3-0 record, outscoring their opponents 9-2 with back-up goaltender Jonas Gustavsson yielding both goals in a 4-2 win over Belarus (+3½, +105). No. 1 netminder Henrik Lundqvist (.920 SV% with the New York Rangers) earned the shutout against both Germany and Finland, and while the Swedes (-3½, -125) failed to cover against Germany, that victory over the Finns put smiles on the faces of everyone who took Sweden at 5-1 to defend their gold medal status from Turin.
Slovakia is a tough customer with Jaroslav Halak (.923 SV% with the Montreal Canadiens) in net, but what should have been a walk in the park against Norway turned into a close contest before the Slovaks (-3½, +100) finally skated into the quarterfinals with a 4-3 victory.
The stage is set for a Hollywood matchup on the rink at the Vancouver Olympics. Team USA, off its upset of Canada, should make it to the Finals where the winner of the quarterfinals match between Russia and Canada likely awaits the Red, White & Blue. Will it be the hosts seeking revenge from the loss to the Yanks, or will Chris Drury and his teammates be trying to duplicate the Miracle on Ice feat against the Russians?
So far, so good for all six of the men’s hockey teams we examined in last week’s Olympic Games preview. Each of our gold-medal contenders has advanced to Wednesday’s quarterfinal round, although it took a little extra work from the host Canadians after they were upset 5-3 by Team USA (+1½, -125) on Sunday.
That forced Canada into a qualifying game against Germany (+4½, +110); that mismatch ended 8-2 in Canada’s favor. More importantly, Canada now has to play Russia in the quarterfinals, while Team USA has a relatively easy path to Sunday’s gold-medal game.
3:00 p.m. ET (Wednesday): USA vs. Switzerland
The U.S. earned a bye into the quarterfinals after winning all three of their preliminary games, starting with a 3-1 victory over Switzerland – but the Swiss were tough customers, just as they were in Turin four years ago, covering as 2½-goal underdogs at even money.
Switzerland has strong goaltending in Jonas Hiller, the proud owner of a solid .919 save percentage with the Anaheim Ducks. The Swiss also play a suffocating brand of hockey, enough to extend Canada into a shootout during the preliminaries. This is a good value team, but very likely to lose once again to the Americans in this rematch.
Ryan Miller (.930 SV% with the Buffalo Sabres) has played very well for Team USA thus far. I fully expect them to make it all the way to the gold-medal game.
7:30 p.m. ET: Russia vs. Canada
I also expect whomever wins this titanic battle to make it through the semifinals and face the United States for the gold medal. Either team would provide storybook opposition; Canada wants revenge for Sunday, while Russia wants revenge from 30 years ago and the Miracle on Ice.
Russia was the second favorite to win gold at the open with betting odds of 2-1, behind Canada at 1-1. But Russia has also picked up some bumps and bruises during this tournament, and losing 2-1 to Slovakia (+2½, +100) last week was hardly a good sign. Canada’s loss to the States can be (and has been, vociferously) blamed on goaltender Martin Brodeur, whose puckhandling gaffes led to a pair of American goals. Roberto Luongo was in net against Germany. It’s not a gimme, not even close, but Canada vs. USA for the gold isn’t a difficult choice.
10:00 p.m. ET: Finland vs. Czech Republic
This has been a rough ride for the Czechs. They were outmuscled 4-2 by Russia (-1½, +125) during the preliminaries and needed overtime to beat Latvia (+3½, -120) 3-2 and make it into the quarterfinals. As we said last week, it’s going to take something special from Tomas Vokoun (.931 SV% with the Florida Panthers) to get the Czechs to the podium, but Vokoun is indeed special.
They might have caught Finland just at the right time after that painful 3-0 loss to rival Sweden (-½, +130) on Sunday. There are some questions about the Finnish defense in front of Miikka Kiprusoff (.925 SV% with the Calgary Flames), but that extra day of rest should help their cause considerably.
12:00 a.m. ET (Thursday): Sweden vs. Slovakia
It was Sweden earning the other bye into the quarterfinals with a perfect 3-0 record, outscoring their opponents 9-2 with back-up goaltender Jonas Gustavsson yielding both goals in a 4-2 win over Belarus (+3½, +105). No. 1 netminder Henrik Lundqvist (.920 SV% with the New York Rangers) earned the shutout against both Germany and Finland, and while the Swedes (-3½, -125) failed to cover against Germany, that victory over the Finns put smiles on the faces of everyone who took Sweden at 5-1 to defend their gold medal status from Turin.
Slovakia is a tough customer with Jaroslav Halak (.923 SV% with the Montreal Canadiens) in net, but what should have been a walk in the park against Norway turned into a close contest before the Slovaks (-3½, +100) finally skated into the quarterfinals with a 4-3 victory.
