Team Canada vs Team Slovakia Betting Odds – Canada Getting Hot At Right Time

Now THAT was the Team Canada everyone in the country was hoping for. It was a dominating performance that lead Canada to a 7-3 beat down of the Russians on Wednesday night, and thr Canadians finally making a definitive statement in these Olympic Games. It was a scary sight for the rest of the countries in the tournament; they saw how powerful the Canadian team can be.

Slovakia pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament to reach the semi-finals, edging Sweden 4-3 to dethrone the defending champs. Pavol Demitra (yes, THAT Pavol Demitra), had three points in the win. The Slovaks have never made it this far in the Winter Games

That loss to the US on Sunday might just have been the kick-in-the-pants Canada needed to get on track. Not only did it show them they needed to work harder, but the extra game against Germany did them a whole lot of good. It gave Roberto Luongo a game to warm up before facing the Russians. But most importantly it gave Coach Mike Babcock one more chance to tinker with some lines, trying to find the best fit. He paired Sidney Crosby with Eric Staal and Jarome Iginla; that line had three goals in the Germany game. That forced Rick Nash (Olympic hockey betting knows he had yet to score in nine previous Olympic Games) down to the Getzlaf/Perry line. He was alright against Germany, but not good enough to stay. So Babcock made perhaps his best coaching decision of the tournament, putting Nash on a checking line with Jonathon Toews and Mike Richards.

The NTR line was magnificent in the Russia game, far and beyond the best line for either team. Not only did Nash score, but they played suffocating defense against Russia’s top line (Ovechkin, Malkin and Semin). Nobody on that killer Russia line was able to find the back of the net, mainly because of the efforts of NTR. And if those three can stop the top Russia line, they can stop any other trio of players in the tournament.

The Canadians are getting hot at just the right time, and they’re taking their fans along for the ride. The atmosphere at Canada’s Hockey Place was unreal from start to finish, and it will be hard for any team that plays Canada here on out to shield their psyche from that kind of noise. For the first time in the tournament, Team Canada has real home-ice advantage.

Slovakia was never expected to medal, and have never finished this high in Olympic standings, so everything here on out for the Slovaks is just gravy. That doesn’t mean they’re not going to try their heart out to beat Canada. There is some offensive spark playing for Slovakia, led by a pair of Marian’s, Hossa and Gaborik. They’re two of the most dynamic scorers in the NHL and have played pretty well so far in the Olympics.

But the key for Slovakia will be between the net. Jaroslav Halak stole a win for Slovakia during the round robin, beating the Russians 2-1 in a shootout. He’ll need nothing less than a similar performance against Canada. Unfortunately for Canadian fans, there isn’t any reason to believe Halak can’t do it. It’s unlikely, but far from impossible. All season in the NHL Halak has been proving himself a legit number one goaltender. His ability to steal games will be heavily leaned upon Friday night.  

DON’S PICK:

The momentum the Canadians have from crushing Russia may be too strong for any team to stop. All four of their lines are playing in top form, their defensive play is solid and Luongo looks ten times better in net than Martin Brodeur did. The Olympic hockey odds don’t look good for Team Slovakia. If Canada’s defensive play can stop the Russians, then they can easily contain the Slovakian attack. Things will be close if Halak has another amazing game. If he only has a mediocre one, the end result won’t even be close.

Canada vs Slovakia Betting Pick: Team Canada

For more sports betting articles, check out the BetOnline Betting Edge daily.