After a pair of matchups on Wednesday opened up the 2026 Olympic Men’s Ice Hockey Tournament, a total of 4 matchups are featured on Thursday’s slate. Yesterday’s action was full of surprises, as Slovakia pulled off a stunning upset over Finland and Italy hung around with Sweden for the majority of the game. Both Team USA and Team Canada will make their tournament debuts today, as USA takes on Latvia and Canada battles Czechia. We are looking at both of those games for our Olympic Hockey best bets of the day. So without further ado, here is a look at 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: Canada vs Czechia Over 5.5 (-142)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
Team Canada enters the tournament as the favorite to win Gold. The Canadians boast arguably the greatest hockey team ever assembled, with Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Sidney Crosby leading the way. Those heavy hitters are expected to push the pace offensively, which gives Team Canada an extremely high offensive ceiling. The Canadians also have plenty of depth scoring, which really gives them unlimited possibilities for this tournament. Players like Sam Reinhart, Brandon Hagel, Mitch Marner, Brad Marchand, and 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini give opponents plenty to worry about when facing the Canadians.
While Canada should be expected to light the lamp early and often in this matchup against Czechia, don’t be surprised if Czechia scores some goals of their own. David Pastrnak is a bona fide superstar and boasts 71 points through 52 games so far this season with the Bruins. His elite talent can help Czechia put forth a valiant effort offensively, and it helps to have other experienced NHL players on the roster such as Martin Necas, Ondrej Palat and Tomas Hertl. Team Canada’s goaltending situation will be interesting to watch, as Jordan Binnington is enduring the worst season of his NHL career, and Logan Thompson missed multiple weeks in January with an upper body injury. Given those concerns, Czechia should be able to score just enough to take this one over the listed total of 5.5.
Read our full Czechia vs Canada prediction
Winter Olympics Men’s Ice Hockey best bet: USA -3.5 (-162) vs Latvia
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing
Team USA’s quest for its first hockey Gold medal since 1980 begins with a matchup against Latvia on Thursday. Connor Hellebuyck is projected to get the starting nod between the pipes, and he seems to have a favorable matchup in this one. Latvia’s forward group features just 2 NHL players in Zemgus Girgensons and Teddy Blueger, and the group as a whole simply doesn’t possess great depth. In the 2025 World Hockey Championship, Latvia managed to score just 2 total goals over 3 games against Sweden, Canada and Finland. Team USA has elite skaters up and down the lineup and should be able to limit Latvia’s scoring attack in this one. Defensively, Latvia allowed 15 total goals in those 3 games, and the rosters they faced were nowhere near as talented as this Team USA team.
After losing in the Gold Medal game of the 4 Nations Face Off last February, look for Team USA to come out firing in this one. The Americans are hungry to show what they can do in an international best-on-best tournament on a stage like this, and they’ll be looking to make a statement in this matchup. Team USA features plenty of scoring depth and the defensive core is possibly the greatest ever assembled. Simply put, Latvia doesn’t have the firepower to keep up. Look for Team USA to put forth a convincing effort in this one and back the Americans -3.5 on the puck line.
Read our full Latvia vs USA prediction
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