USA Hockey continues its quest for its first gold medal since 1980 with a preliminary round tilt against Denmark on Saturday afternoon.
The Stars & Stripes are prohibitive favorites over the Danes, with the moneyline tipping up to an unromantic price of -2800 for the Valentine’s Day showdown in Milan.
The Americans won their opening game against Latvia, 5-1, while Denmark lost to Germany, 3-1.
USA vs. Denmark odds, prediction
There were some hairy moments for the Americans against Latvia, but the result was never really in question.
The Yanks had a couple of early goals called back, hit some posts, and just needed to hold their nerve after a weird first period.
They were able to do that, and they showed some serious scoring depth in the process.
While so much ink has been spilled about the star power on display in these Winter Olympics, the real difference between the juggernauts and the also-rans is down the lineup.
Denmark has some highly-skilled players on its roster who can hang with the elite players at the top of the American roster, but the gap between each team’s bottom-six is profound.
We saw that in the Latvia game, as Brock Nelson’s line, which is the fourth unit for Team USA, dominated the show.
I expect a similar outcome in this one.
As for the Danes, they will do everything in their power to turn this into a low-event contest and hope that Frederik Andersen turns in an A+ effort and steals the game.
There is a chance that happens — Andersen owns a .914 save percentage in 539 NHL games, and his international numbers are similarly strong — but it’s never a good thing when your plan is to hope and pray for miraculous goaltending.
Betting on the NHL?
And it also has to be noted that Andersen has putrid numbers with the Carolina Hurricanes this season. If the 2025-26 version of Andersen shows up, this could get out of hand, fast.
Team USA’s win over Latvia was better than it looked, but the Yanks will certainly want to put an emphasis on a fast start Saturday, knowing that they had to sweat out the first 20 against Latvia.
It’s a wide spread, but I like the Americans to get ahead by multiple goals early and keep padding their lead in a rout.
The Plays: Team USA Over 1.5 goals in first period (+105, DraftKings) | Team USA -4.5 (+135, BetMGM)
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Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.