Canada will take on Switzerland on Friday afternoon, with puck drop scheduled for 3:00 p.m. ET. On DraftKings Sportsbook, Canada is a massive -800 favorite on the Moneyline, and the game’s total is set at O/U 5.5 goals.
Below, I’ll provide a preview, prediction and best bet for Friday’s Olympic hockey tilt between Canada and Switzerland.
Canada vs. Switzerland prediction, preview
The Canadians handled business in their first matchup of the Milan Winter Olympics, topping Czechia 5-0 on Thursday. The youngest player on the roster, 19-year-old Macklin Celebrini, got the scoring started in the first period, and Jordan Binnington recorded a 26-save shutout. Logan Thompson will likely start between the pipes for the Canadians tonight, and he has been one of the more dependable goaltenders in the NHL this season, posting a 2.45 GAA and .912 SV% across 39 starts. This team is the favorite to win the gold medal for a reason, and it is because of its loaded talent on every line, headlined by players such as Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby––just to name a few.
While Switzerland also recorded a shutout in its first matchup, beating France 4-0 on Thursday, it’s hard to see this team keeping up with the Canadians. Switzerland profiles similarly to Czechia, with around five to ten legit NHL players, but one primary difference is the existence of Roman Josi. The Swiss team will offer more defensive resistance against Canada’s star-studded forward groups, but it still lacks the depth to complete an upset. Akira Schmid will start in net for Switzerland, and he has had a bit of an up-and-down season with Vegas with a 2.53 GAA and .895 SV%. If the Swiss team wants to shock the world, it will need serious help from the likes of Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Kevin Fiala on the offensive end.
Canada vs. Switzerland pick, best bet
Playing Canada at -800 on the Moneyline is just unrealistic, even if 91% of the bets on DraftKings Sportsbook have already been placed on it. If you’re cool with laying -2.5 on the Canadians on the Puck Line, go for it, but three goals is steep, and there’s a chance these teams present some fatigue having played yesterday.
If I had to choose a non-player prop play here, I’d lean toward taking Switzerland to cover the Puck Line +2.5 at +125 odds. However, the clearest play is MacKinnon anytime goalscorer (+120). He was the primary driving factor on offense for the Canadians, and he netted a filthy powerplay goal yesterday, which was assisted by McDavid and Crosby. That first powerplay unit for Canada is truly the final boss level in professional hockey.
