Will defending champions Finland get off to a good start at the Olympics?
The Olympic ice hockey competitions, featuring NHL stars, begin in Milan, and the defending champions traditionally kick things off. That’s not Canada, but the Finns in our Slovakia vs. Finland tip.
They defeated Russia in the final in Pyeongchang four years ago, securing their first Olympic title in history. Can they repeat this feat in Milan in 2026? Possibly, but it will be even more difficult this year, as all teams will be arriving with their absolute top stars from the NHL – and Canada, the USA, and Sweden simply have a few stronger players than Finland.
Nevertheless, Team Finland’s list of stars is of course impressive: Sebastian Aho, Roope Hintz, Kaapo Kakko, Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen and goalie Joonas Korpisalo – they are all key players in their NHL clubs, so we should at least consider Finland a dark horse for the Olympics.
The Slovaks, on the other hand, are only fielding seven NHL stars, which is why our prediction for Slovakia vs. Finland is a Finnish opening victory. In any case, we don’t expect too many goals at the start of the tournament, as the opening games at the Olympics are often low-scoring. Four years ago, the first game between Russia and Switzerland ended 1-0.
In general, under bets are a good option at the Olympics – both for the game and for individual periods. Four years ago, for example, there was only one game with more than 5.5 goals from the quarterfinals onwards. Therefore, our prediction for Slovakia vs. Finland is also under 5.5 goals.
Slovakia – Finland Head-to-head comparison / H2H statistics
In direct matches between these two teams, the Finns have a clear advantage. Nine of the last ten matches went to Team Finland, including the semi-final of the 2022 Olympic Games, which ended 2-0 in favor of the Scandinavians, who went on to win the tournament.
Even then, it was a game with few goals and chances, and that could be repeated on Wednesday. The NHL stars are not yet so well attuned to each other that they can create chances on an assembly line.
That is precisely Team Slovakia’s only chance. Nevertheless, in Slovakia vs. Finland, the odds on Finland -1.5 are our preferred betting option. In seven of the Finns’ last nine victories, the winning margin was more than 1.5 goals.
Slovakia – Finland Tip
How will the teams start such a big tournament with so little preparation? That is probably the main question at the Olympic ice hockey event. The Finns should have the better start here with their outstanding defensive players around Miro Heiskanen – precisely because they can rely on this bulwark at first.
That’s why we expect a maximum of one Slovakian goal and not the biggest goal fest overall. All in all, our number one bet for Slovakia vs. Finland is under 5.5 total goals, followed by bets on the defending champions from Finland.
The momentum of the NHL players compared to regular world championships should also benefit Finland. We can also make good bets on players at the Olympics. For the Finns, a bet on a goal by Sebastian Aho is a good option. He has already scored 20 goals for the Carolina Hurricanes this NHL season and has scored three times in the last four games.
