Adam Scriven
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We’re heading into the final days of the 2022 Winter Olympics and attention turns to the National Indoor Stadium, where the men’s hockey semi-finals will take place. USA’s conquerors Slovakia are first up against Finland at 11:10pm ET on Thursday night, before 2018 champs Russia face Sweden at 8:10am ET on Friday.
Here are our picks for both semi-finals.
Winter Olympics men’s hockey semi-final best bet: Over 5.5 goals in Slovakia vs Finland (+150)
Little was expected of Slovakia going into the men’s hockey tournament at Beijing 2022, and even less was expected of them after they suffered heavy defeats to Finland and Sweden in their first 2 games. But the plucky Slovaks have gone on a tear since then, and shocked the United States team with a shootout victory after an epic quarter-final which saw Slovakia equalize in the final minute of regulation time with their goalie pulled.
It’s hard to see them turning the tables on the Finns, who beat them 6-2 in a pretty 1-sided game in their opener, but the best bet could be to take over 5,5 goals in the game. Both teams are strong offensively. Finland were the second-highest goalscorers in the group stage, while Slovakia’s 17-year-old forward Juraj Slafkovski, who plays in the Finnish league, jointly leads the Olympic scoring charts with 5 in 5 games.
Winter Olympics men’s hockey semi-final best bet: Sweden tie no bet vs ROC (+126)
Defending gold medallists Russia haven’t been particularly impressive and Sweden represents a significant step up in class from the teams they have faced so far.
The Swedes’ only defeat came in overtime after they blew a 3-0 lead over Finland in the third period during the group stage. Take Sweden with the tie no bet.
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