The prospect of the gold medal game happening without the Canadians’ participation in these Winter Olympics was too hard to believe.
It was too hard to believe, even when the Czechs led them 3-2 with less than eight minutes to play in the quarterfinal.
That duration proved too long against Canada’s overwhelming battery of NHL superstars as Nick Suzuki notched the tying goal at 3:37 before Mitch Marner’s virtuosic overtime strike.
The only obstacle left to affirm our beliefs is Finland in Friday morning’s semifinal.
Canada defeated the Finns 5-3 at best-on-best almost a year ago to the day in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby each had a goal and an assist.
Crosby is “unlikely” to suit up for Canada after an awkward hit from Radko Gudas in the second period left him with a lower-body injury that has him listed as day-to-day.
Even without Canada’s leader and most decorated player, the Canadians are still 2.5-goal favorites over the Finns, a club that arrived in Milan with the fourth-shortest odds.
Per DraftKings, 41 percent of bettors are willing to lay those goals against Finland.
Finland hasn’t been as convincing as one may have projected. The defending gold medal winners kicked off their Games on the wrong foot, getting upset by Slovakia 4-1. Though perhaps that was just an early tournament mispricing, as the Slovaks clinched the third seed over Finland and are also one win from the gold medal game.
Much like Canada, Finland was 1:12 away from flying home in their quarterfinal game against Switzerland.
The Swiss, who were drubbed 5-1 by Canada in pool play, frustrated the Finns with a disciplined game.
Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini lead the Games with 11 and nine points, respectively. Finland’s stars haven’t produced the same kind of volume, and they dined on the Italians with 11 goals; Artturi Lehkonen leads the team with five points.
Shots on goal have been a telling stat category throughout this tournament; each team’s most prolific scorer is collecting them at voracious rates: McDavid registered seven shots on goal against Czechia and is averaging five per game.
Then there are the Canadians who are belying their NHL reputations. Mitch Marner has showed up, but there’s something about Jordan Binnington’s game on the biggest stage that provides ease. His woeful season with the St. Louis Blues really hasn’t applied in the Olympics.
Betting on the NHL?
You could make the argument he hasn’t been tested all that much, with only 64 shots reaching him through three starts, but the former Stanley Cup winner made several spectacular saves to save the Canadians with the game on the line as he did in 4 Nations.
It feels too obvious, but given the pedigree of this roster, its stratospheric expectations and the stakes of international pride — if there was ever a time to bet obvious, it’s in this spot.
THE PLAY: Canada -2.5 (+114, DraftKings) | Connor McDavid 6+ Shots on Goal (+110, FanDuel)
Why Trust New York Post Betting
Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.