2014 Olympic Men's Ice Hockey Gold Medal (SETTLED)

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Olympic hockey odds: Team Canada favored to win gold in Sochi
By OddsShark


With a roster stacked with NHL all-stars, Team Canada is a 2/1 favorite to take home gold in Russia this winter.

Canada's talent pool is so strong that a team made up of all countrymen left off the roster would be a serious medal contender.

The team going to Sochi will be headlined by Sidney Crosby, Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Toews and a slew of other elite players at every position. All-Stars Claude Giroux, Logan Couture and others who impact NHL betting lines on a nightly basis didn't even make the team.

Canada is a runaway favorite to win Group B at -700. Finland (+350 to win the group) is also expected to advance out of the group which features Norway (+5000) and Austria (+10000).

Arguably the toughest group in the group stage is Group A, which features Russia (-200 to win the group), the USA (+175), Slovakia (+900), and Slovenia (+10000).

In addition to being loaded with offensively gifted players including Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Ilya Kovalchuk, Team Russia will have a passionate home crowd behind it and is going off at 9/4 to take Olympic Gold.

While Russia and Canada are known more for their finesse, Team USA is dangerous due to its grittiness. Physical players like David Backes, Dustin Brown, and Ryan Kesler compliment the high-end talent guys like Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel.

Goaltending could be a major advantage for the United States as well as both Jonathan Quick and Ryan Miller have shown the ability to stand on their heads and steal games for their respective teams. The USA is going off at 6/1 to win gold.

Group C features Sweden (-200 to win the group), the Czech Republic (+188), Switzerland (+700), and Latvia (+8000). Team Sweden is a popular pick to win gold going off at 4/1. The team has plenty of offensive talent led by the Sedin twins, Alexander Steen, and Henrik Zetterberg.

The big question will be in goal; can Henrik Lundqvist find his elite form on the international stage, or will his NHL struggles this season carry over to the Olympics?

The Czech Republic and Finland are each going off at 10/1 to win gold while Switzerland at 25/1 and Slovakia at 33/1 round out the contenders.

[Teh One Who Knocks]

I used more updated odds than the ones that appear in the above synopsis.

[DemonGeminiX]

Thanks for the multiple bets.

[Godfather]

I think a repeat is a tough, tough thing to do and I have some serious questions about who got left off, our goalies and our defense this Olympics (seriously, Hamhuis or Vlasik over Seabrook? No Giroux? Luongo playing average to poor?)

That said, I bet everything on Canada winning out of patriotism (and it's still reasonable odds)

[DemonGeminiX]

You're brave, GF. Just out of curiosity, did you see who's playing on the Russians' lineup?

[Teh One Who Knocks]

Olympic Hockey 2014: Strengths and Weaknesses of Every Team

[redred]

i was going to spread my bet over every team bar GB but we haven't even got one

[Teh One Who Knocks]

1948 was the last time the British ice hockey team qualified for the Olympic tournament

[Teh One Who Knocks]

For anyone curious about the qualifying for this year's men's tourney:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_hoc..._qualification

[redred]

1948 was the last time the British ice hockey team qualified for the Olympic tournament

i take it we didn't win

[Teh One Who Knocks]

You guys actually have 2 hockey medals from the Olympics

[redred]

[DemonGeminiX]

Damn, the Swedes look freaking strong too.

[redred]

i'll bet on them

[Godfather]

You're brave, GF. Just out of curiosity, did you see who's playing on the Russians' lineup?

Brave, dumb, it's a close call

I did see their team and it's definitely dangerous, but a lot of KHL'ers too and judging by how poorly they played in 2010 it's hard to know what teams shows up! Home turf and Ov playing at his best is going to be tough to beat.

I'm worried about the US and other European countries. Lot better goaltending out there, too many unknowns when you only play together for a couple weeks. It really does feel like it could be any one of the top 5-6 team's tourny to win eh?