Czech Republic vs Denmark: Filip Pesan's team will start the 2022 Olympics with a convincing win

The last four head-to-head games between the Czech Republic and Denmark have only been decided in a shootout. Will the opponents finally manage to decide the winner after three periods? We predict that the Czechs will easily beat the Danes.

The Czech Republic are a team that has always had a good selection of players, but they had not won a medal at a major tournament since 2012 when they won bronze at the World Championships. Since then, the Czech side hasbeen without medals at seven tournaments in a row and they have not produced a decent showing at the Olympics since 2006. Filip Pesan has assembled a competent, big-name squad whose main stars are David Krejci, Jan Kovář and Michael Frolík. Still, they look dim, for the Czechs lost all six games played in the current Euro Hockey Tour tournament, and their historical memory prevents them from being favored for the 2022 Olympics.

The Danish national team is a worthy mediocre team in the world championships that have not left the elite division since 2003. But they have only been to the playoffs twice, and both times they were eliminated in the quarterfinals. The Vikings also had a decent showing at the 2021 World Cup, claiming three wins in the group stages but not enough to advance to the next round. After the World Championship, the Danes also played in the final round of qualification for the Olympics 2022, where they beat Slovenia - 4:3, South Korea - 11:1, and Norway - 2:0, which enabled them to qualify for the first time in history.

Over the last decade and a half, the teams have played eight head-to-head games in World Cups. The Czechs have won on six occasions, and the Danes have been stronger twice. The goal difference, 26-10, also favoured the home team for the game. The last time the opponents met at World Cup 2021, the Czech Republic's players were victorious, 2-1.

The Czech Republic and Denmark have been playing extremely hard together of late. The fate of the last four head-to-head encounters was decided in shootout shootouts in which each of the opponents emerged stronger twice. It's unlikely that we'll see as intriguing a showdown as this one. After all, the Czech squad has a far tougher squad than the Danes, and the tournament schedule does not allow Filip Pesan's men to take the time to warm up. As a result, we suggest betting on the Czech Republic's victory with a handicap (-1.5) for 1.72.

The Czech national team, led by Filip Pesan, more and more rarely plays the classic Czech counterattacking style of hockey, which tends to be more productive. On the contrary, the Czechs are scoring heavily and conceding even more. In their last 14 games in 2021 (eight at the 2022 World Cup and another six in the Ice Hockey Tour), they scored 81 goals (5.79 goals per game on average), which is respectable for their age. With this in mind, we would say that Total Over 5.5 pucks for 2.15 is a good bet.

If there's one player on the Danish squad who can be expected to score, it's Nicklas Jensen, the undisputed leader of the Vikings. During the last World Cup, the forward dominated the ice nearly every shift, scoring 8 points (5 goals + 3 assists) in seven games. This KHL season, he's finally escaped serious injury, and so far, he's played in 37 games for the Jokerit, scoring 34 points (19 goals + 15 assists). That's a very respectable mark! In such a situation, it is worth looking at the bet on Nicklas Jensen Total Over 0.5 points for 1.85.