Face-off: 1820 BST, 19/05/2022
Arena: Helsinki Ice Hall
Canada are priced at prohibitive odds to rattle off a fourth consecutive IIHF World Championship win when taking on Kazakhstan in Helsinki.
Their opponents have lost three straight so far, although they have managed to score in each game and showed spirit in a 4-2 defeat by the holders last year.
Let’s go with 11.0 for a 6-1 scoreline this time to kick off our Canada vs Kazakhstan predictions.
Canada Odds
Canada were a touch sloppy when opening with a 5-3 win over Germany but have since beaten Italy 6-1 and Slovakia 5-1.
Admittedly, they were flattered by that last result, as Logan Thompson made several excellent saves in the first half of an end-to-end contest.
“We got off to a bit of a slower start,” admitted captain Thomas Chabot on the IIHF website. “Slovakia came pretty hard.
“It got us a little surprised, but I think just the way we rallied up for the second and third, I think it was exactly what we wanted.
“I think we’re slowly getting there, playing the way we want to play.
“Obviously, there’s still some work to do, but I think that’s what the start of the tournament is, making sure everybody gets used to playing with each other.”
Claude Julien may make some changes here, but 1.72 for his team to prevail by five or more goals makes sense from the Canada vs Kazakhstan odds.
Kazakhstan Odds
Kazakhstan looked set for a tough time in Group A when demolished 9-1 by Denmark first up but have since got up to speed.
They led until halfway through the second period in a 2-1 loss to France and battled on gamely when going down 3-2 to Switzerland.
However, Kazakhstan were outshot 43-14 by the Swiss and only the heroics of goalie Andrei Shutov kept it close.
“He played unreal,” said Sweden-born defender Viktor Svedberg. “He really kept us in the game.
“Without him, it probably would have been a different game. It’s huge that he steps up and plays that way.”
Canada are expected to be a bit more clinical, though, and their strength in depth should shine through even if Julien does shuffle his pack.
We’re adding 3.9 for the holders to lead 2-0 after the first period to our Canada vs Kazakhstan betting tips.
Additional stats
Last results:
Slovakia 1-5 CANADA
Switzerland 3-2 KAZAKHSTAN
Head-to-head: Kazakhstan 2-4 Canada, Kazakhstan 0-8 Canada
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