Olympic final: odds favor Canada

Raphael Simard
Olympic final: odds favor Canada
Credit: YouTube

This afternoon, Canada had a close call, but defeated Finland 3-2.

The United States had less trouble reaching the final, eliminating Slovakia 6-2.

The inevitable happened: Canada and the United States will face off in the final. And, according to the odds, Canada has a 2% advantage. 51 to 49.

For the bronze medal, the Finns have more than a three in four chance of beating Juraj Slafkovsky and Slovakia.

Remember that at the start of the tournament, the Slovaks surprised Finland… However, it feels like Finland has found its stride.

But anyway. As for the grand final, which will take place on Sunday at 8:10 a.m. Eastern Time (ouch…), it's important to note that both teams have extraordinary firepower and give their opponents almost nothing.

Since the start of the tournament, both teams have allowed only eight goals in five games. Canada (27) has scored three more goals than the United States (24), however. Advantage to the Canadians in this aspect, then. In a game to determine the gold medal, anything can happen, but in front of the American net, Connor Hellebuyck is much more solid than Jordan Binnington. Although Binnington rises to the occasion in big games… In terms of depth, I think the Americans have a slight advantage. Especially with the loss of Sidney Crosby to Jon Cooper's team, I think the US can rely on more than just one trio. And the defense has several big names as well. In any case, the American payroll is higher than the Canadian one. That doesn't mean anything, but still.

The three best players in the world still play in our country. Because yes, I think it's fair to put Macklin Celebrini in the NHL's top three right now.

But at this point, it's so close that 51-49 could/should have been 50-50. Go Canada!


In brief

– Great read on the significance of this final, precisely.

— Worth listening to.

— That long?

— Great.

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