Hockey fans are in for another full day of Olympic hockey on Saturday. A total of 4 games are on the docket today, which means we have plenty of exciting Olympic hockey to enjoy all throughout the day. Perhaps the most intriguing matchup of the day comes between Team USA and Team Denmark. The Americans are looking to move to 2-0, while the Danes are looking for their first tournament win. We are looking at that matchup for one of today’s best bets and for the other one we are taking a look at Italy vs Finland.
It’s shaping up to be a great day of hockey, so here are our best bets for today’s slate of Men’s Ice Hockey at the Winter Olympics. You can also get our Winter Olympics hockey picks throughout the tournament.
Winter Olympics Men’s Ice Hockey best bet: USA vs Denmark Over 6.5 (-118)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Team USA scored 5 goals in their first game of the tournament against Latvia on Thursday. It was a strong offensive performance, but it easily could have been even better. The Americans had a pair of goals taken off the board after lengthy reviews in the first period, and hit multiple crossbars throughout the rest of the contest. Those 5 goals could have very easily been 7 or 8. Team USA’s elite offensive depth was on display against Latvia, as Brock Nelson and Jack Hughes showed incredible chemistry on the fourth line. Nelson potted 2 goals while Hughes dished out a pair of highlight reel assists. With 4 lines capable of scoring at any moment and multiple elite offensive-defensemen in Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski, look for the Americans to light the lamp early and often in this one.
Team Denmark scored just 1 goal in its opening game against Germany. However, the Danes certainly had their chances. Denmark came out aggressively in the offensive zone and fired 11 shots on goal in the 1st period. They ended up out-shooting Germany 38-26. USA goaltender Connor Hellebuyck looked solid by stopping 17 of 18 shots against Latvia, but Denmark figures to challenge him with a higher shot total. Nikolaj Ehlers and Oliver Bjorkstrand are solid NHL scorers, and they should be able to lead Denmark to at least some scoring success in this matchup. Look to the over.
Winter Olympics Men’s Ice Hockey best bet: Italy vs Finland -3.5 (-180)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
Team Finland suffered an upset loss to Slovakia in their first game of this tournament, but it responded well with a strong 4-1 win over Sweden on Friday. Heading into Saturday, this matchup against Italy puts the Finns in a great position to break through offensively. Finland has scored 5 total goals through 2 games in this tournament, but they are capable of much more. The top line of Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, and Mikael Granlund is capable of leading the way, while other players like Sebastian Aho, Anton Lundell and Miro Heiskanen can provide great depth scoring. It may have taken Team Finland some time to adjust to life without Aleksander Barkov, but now that they’ve had 2 games to get in sync, I’m expecting a strong showing from the Finns.
Team Italy has put forth a respectable showing in the tournament so far. Not known as a hockey power, Italy scored first against Sweden and played them tough all the way and then fell to Slovakia by just a single goal. However, Team Finland presents an extremely tough matchup. Italian goaltender Damian Clara made 46 saves against Sweden, but I’m expecting Finland to find more offensive success than the Swedes. Finland simply possesses a much deeper lineup of skilled NHL athletes, which could prove to be too much for Italy to handle. Back Finland to cover the puck line -3.5.
Click here to add us to your Google preferred sources and never miss a story
