Canada vs Germany: The Maple Leafs to take revenge for Pyeongchang

Germany knocked out Canada in the quarterfinals of the last Olympics in Pyeongchang. Will the Maple Leafs be able to take revenge for that failure now? We predict that Jeremy Colliton's men will win this time!

Team Canada go to Beijing as the reigning world champions. At the planetary championship in Riga, the Maple Leafs got off to their worst start in their history, losing to Latvia, the USA, and Germany with a combined score of 2:10. Still, then they gradually began to rectify their position and made the playoffs, where they reached the final and beat Finland 3:2 in overtime. Yes, that team had a lot of players from the NHL, although not all of them were at the top level, and now the Canadiens will play a completely different roster, and they will be led by Jeremy Colliton, who not so long ago was fired from Chicago.

The German team was the main sensation of the last Olympics in Pyeongchang. Back then, the Germans were a failure in the tournament's group stage. Still, in the playoffs, they were transformed, beating Switzerland, Sweden, and Canada one by one, and in the final, they had all chances to beat Russia, but conceded at the very end of the third period and then lost in overtime - 3:4. At the last World Cup, Toni Söderholm's charges also played very well, as they managed to advance from the group, and then they beat Switzerland in the quarterfinals 3-2. Alas, in the semi-finals, the Germans were beaten by the Finns 1-2, and in the battle for the bronze medal, they were weaker than the USA 1-6.

Over the past decade and a half, the teams have played ten head-to-head games in major international tournaments. The Canadians have won eight, and the Germans have been stronger in two games. The Maple Leafs also had a 53-16 advantage in goals scored. The last time the opponents met at the 2021 World Cup, Germany posted a 3-1 win.

Team Germany is a finalist of the last Olympic Games. Still, at that tournament, the Germans began with three consecutive defeats in the group stage, so you should not expect from them a bright and high-quality game already in the opening competition. The Canadians also are unlikely to do their best in the opening game, but they are in the habit of fighting for three points in every encounter. They will try to avenge their defeat in PyeongChang, where the Germans sensationally knocked them out in the playoffs. The Maple Leafs look stronger now than they did four years ago, and Germany's squad has certainly not grown any stronger, so a bet on the Canadian team's victory for 1.80 suggests itself.

The first game day of the hockey tournament in Beijing started very ineffectively, so someone needs to rectify the situation. The best pairing for this looks like Canada vs Germany. Both teams are well aware that the competition rules will make the playoffs, so the burden of responsibility will not be that high. Even in the quarterfinals at the 2018 Olympics, the Germans and Canadians delighted the public with a 4-3 draw, and now we shouldn't expect a close encounter. With this in mind, Total Over 5.5 pucks for 2.40 seems to be the best option.

Daniel Winnik is one of the most experienced players in the 2022 Olympics hockey tournament. Despite his advanced age, and the Canadian is already 36 years old, he posts impressive personal stats. He's already amassed 43 points (23 goals + 20 assists) in 38 games in Switzerland's current championship, which is a mighty fine figure. Now the forward is one of the top ten scorers in the local championship, and now he has a chance to prove himself in the national team shirt, so it is worth considering a bet on Daniel Winnik Total Over 0.5 points for 1.90.