| 2010 Winter Olympics: Canada vs Russia Men’s Hockey Prediction |
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| Written by Scott Burgess | |||||||
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Wednesday, 24 February 2010
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Team Canada will be truly tested today, Wednesday Feb 24@7:30ET, as they take on Alexander Ovechkin and his Russian squad. The winner goes on and the loser goes home as Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin battle for their countries. Olympic oddsmakers at BODOG.com have Team Canada as -155 moneyline favorites over Russia (+135) with the over/under set at 5.5 goals . Be sure to get your 2010 Winter Olympics: Canada vs Russia Men’s Hockey Prediction in now at BETUS.com Team Canada had to beat Germany to get to the quarter final and beat them they did. They won 8-2 as the overmatched Germans gave it their all. Canada edged out the Germans in every department, scoring, goaltending and special teams. They needed to win big heading into a tonight’s game less than 24 hours apart. Joe Thornton got his first goal of the tournament and Shea Weber pounded a slap shot from the point that passed right through the net. Jerome Iginla potted two on the night giving him five in the Olympics. They are finally scoring, but it’ll be a different story against the Russians, who have some of the best NHLers in these Olympics. The four-goal cushion at the midpoint of the game permitted coach Mike Babcock to run four lines and preserve the legs for tonight's encounter against Russia. Babcock's new line combinations worked reasonably well, with Eric Staal nicely complementing Iginla and Crosby by providing strong corner work for the unit . Goaltending from Roberto Luongo was great despite not facing a lot of shots. He looked more comfortable in net then Martin Brodeur and having his hometown crowd yelling “LOOOOO” helps. Canada made it to finals at the World Hockey Championships in 2009, but for the second straight year the team ended up losing out to Russia. In 2008, when the games came to Canadian soil for the first time, Russia came out on top after an overtime victory. Russia will represent a different kind of challenge. As the home team, Russia's coach, Slava Bykov, will have the last line change and it remains to be seen whether he will play a match-up game or simply roll lines. Crosby could go head-to-head against his Pittsburgh Penguins' teammate, Evgeni Malkin, who currently centers Ovechkin's line. With the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Ilya Kovalchuk, and the rest they have some of the hottest scorers in the NHL. Beyond Crosby vs. Ovechkin, it's Russia's speed vs. Canada's vast depth and teammates vs. teammates . Crosby and Evgeni Malkin won the Stanley Cup together last season in Pittsburgh. "It's going to be intense," Crosby said. This has been hockey's biggest rivalry since the Canadians won the famed 1972 Summit Series in Moscow. As for Wednesday on the ice, Ovechkin said, "We don't have the kind of pressure that Canada has right now because they're the home team." Crosby and Ovechkin don't get along, either. Crosby dislikes Ovechkin's showboating and his penchant for targeting opposing players for questionable hits. Yet Crosby said no one on Canada's team would be intimidated even though Ovechkin leveled Jagr a few days ago. "We don't want to be caught in the railroad tracks. We know he's a big body," Babcock said. "He will be excited. Sid will be excited. Russia's goalie Evgeni Nabokov has been great and he will be working hard against Canada. Point-Spreads.com 2010 Winter Olympics: Canada vs Russia Men’s Hockey Prediction The Bottom Line: It’s going to be a battle but Canada should pull out the win. Be sure to get your 2010 Winter Olympics: Canada vs Russia Men’s Hockey Prediction in now at BETUS.com and receive up to 145% in Cash Bonuses and start winning today!                        |
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| Last Updated ( Wednesday, 24 February 2010 ) | |||||||