Face-off: 1420 BST, 16/05/2022
Arena: Helsinki Ice Hall
Canada are expected to maintain their 100 per cent record at the IIHF World Championship by taking care of today’s Group A rivals Slovakia.
The underdogs did well to claim bronze at the Beijing Olympics but look mismatched with plenty of NHL players now back in action.
We like 4.4 for the holders to win by exactly three goals in our Slovakia vs Canada predictions.
Slovakia Odds
Slovakia laboured to a 4-2 win over France first up but were then beaten 2-1 by Germany on Saturday.
After falling 2-0 behind, Kristian Pospisil pulled one back but Seattle Kraken goalie Philipp Grubauer kept Germany ahead.
Defender Adam Janosik said: “It was an important game, but there are still five more to go, so we have to look forward and pick our game up for next time.”
New Jersey Devils centre Tomas Tatar has caught the eye, but this does not look a strong Slovakia side.
They do get an extra day to rest, though, so that could help them to have their moments up front.
Looking at the Slovakia vs Canada odds, let’s try 2.85 for the holders to win in regular time but concede at least two goals.
Canada Odds
Canada were a bit sloppy at the back when beating Germany 5-3 and surprisingly fell behind against Italy yesterday.
Travis Sanheim levelled things up at 15:50 but it wasn’t until the second period that the holders took control.
Josh Anderson, Nicolas Roy and Kent Johnson netted in the middle section, while Dysin Mayo and Noah Gregor struck in the third to make it 6-1.
“I thought we played pretty well,” commented New York Islanders forward Matt Barzal.
“They came out hard. They made it tough on us to score and I thought we made some adjustments that helped.
“I thought we had the puck 90 per cent of the time, so that’s a positive. We’ve just got to maybe put a few more in the back of the net.”
Claude Julien will no doubt shuffle his pack due to the quick turnaround, but 13.0 for a 5-2 win appeals for our Slovakia vs Canada betting tips.
Additional stats
Last results:
SLOVAKIA 1-2 Germany
Italy 1-6 CANADA
Head-to-head: Slovakia 5-6 Canada, Canada 5-0 Slovakia, Canada 4-1 Slovakia
Join bwin today and receive a 100% Deposit Bonus up to $200. Terms and conditions apply.
