Look for a Canada-USA rematch in the gold-medal game

Olympic hockey betting players are preparing for what should an exciting semifinal day on Friday, with the host country, Canada joined by the United States, Finland and a surprising Slovakia team. The smart money says that Canada and the Americans will go through to stage a rematch of their group-stage clash, won by the USA.

USA vs Finland odds – Friday, February 26, 3:00 PM ET

The Americans pummeled Swiss goalie Jonas Hiller in a 2-0 win in the quarterfinals, and Hiller stood on his head until a pair of third-period markers from Zach Parise. Ryan Miller stopped all 19 shots he faced for the Americans, who are perfect so far in this tournament and are playing the underdog role to a tee. The Finns came away with their own 2-0 win over the Czech Republic, and they also needed goals in the final 20 minutes from Niklas Hagman and Valtterri Filppula. These two know what it’s like to be in the gold-medal game, as the Americans lost to Canada in Salt Lake City in 2002, while the Finns lost to rival Sweden in Torino in 2006. This game should be won between the pipes, as Miller has been standing on his head during this tournament, while Finland’s Miikka Kiprusoff has answered every question asked of him. This will go down to the final period, but the Americans are the play here.

Canada vs Slovakia odds – Friday, February 26, 9:30 PM ET

US sportsbook odds (US sportsbook reviews) had Canada as the pre-tournament favorites, but everyone worried after their loss to the Americans in the final group game, and there was nervousness before Wednesday’s game with Russia. The Canadians put that to bed quickly, jumping out to a 3-0 lead before rolling to a 7-3 romp over the Russians, and they got a huge game from Dan Boyle, who had three points in the first period. Roberto Luongo made 25 stops as the Canadians held a 42-28 edge in shots. The Slovaks knocked off the defending gold medalists from Sweden with a 4-3 win in the quarterfinals, and Jaroslav Halak stopped 26 shots, outplaying Henrik Lundqvist as Slovakia were outshot 29-14. The Canadians will be the heavy favorites in this game, and they need to come out and do what they did against the Russians, which was to get rid of the cute passes and hit everything in sight. The Canadians can play with skill, but their game is power, and they can really wear down the Slovaks, especially on the forecheck. The Slovaks don’t have the depth to skate with Canada, and their only chance is Halak, who needs to have the game of his life if Slovakia are going to pull off one of the biggest hockey betting upsets in history.