Canada and Czechia will meet again for the second time in five days as the only rematch in the men’s hockey quarterfinal round.
What can change in such a short duration, if anything?
The Canadians waltzed their way through the preliminary stage with a perfect nine points and a plus-17 goal differential. No surprise, they’ve executed the Games’ most flammable power play, striking iron on four of nine man advantages.
In 121 shots on goal, Canada has found twine at a tournament-best 16.5 percent clip.
The Pope is Catholic, and Connor McDavid leads the field in scoring, possessing nine points. Sidney Crosby and Macklin Celebrini trail him with six points apiece as this three-generation ensemble of hockey royalty has panned out to all it was cracked up to be.
The Czechs only defeated the feeble French in the prelims, also dropping an overtime decision to Switzerland and their 5-0 opening loss to Canada.
The Canadians scored five unanswered goals in that tilt and went 1-for-3 on the power play, but the Czechs still kept up for the first two periods, only getting outshot 23-22.
Czechia topped Denmark 3-2 on Tuesday and will need to readjust to Canada’s supreme pace within one day. This will be their third game in four days while Canada has had off for three days since their 10-2 clinic against France.
Unlike some other middle-ground nations in these Olympics, the Czechs at least have a semi-balanced lineup of NHL talent from David Pastrnak to Martin Necas, Ondrej Palat and Tomas Hertl. Necas has piloted this campaign with seven points in four games — tied for third-most in the tournament. He was critical in Czechia’s three-goal spree within 5:45 of the second period against the Danes, recording a goal and an assist.
Betting on the NHL?
I understand skepticism behind Lukas Dostal since he hasn’t delivered his best hockey in the Czechia crease with an 87.9 save percentage and a 3.65 GAA. He’s the stronger option over Dan Vladar, who was shaky against France. He would be facing Canada’s wave of offensive firepower on short rest.
Dostal held firm in a third-period push from the Danes after the lead was cut to one and for what it’s worth, that confidence provides some stability transitioning right into another one-game playoff.
Everyone is afraid of fading Canada, but the sportsbooks are providing lots of edge opportunities with these bloated Olympic Puck Lines. The Czechs have the lineup credentials to play within four goals of Canada with the benefit of momentum and a trial run against them already under their belt.
THE PLAY: Czechia +3.5 (-148, DraftKings)
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.
