USA vs. Finland Prediction, Betting Odds, and Our Best Bet

The 4 Nations Face-Off continues tonight after a fireworks-filled night last night with Canada and Sweden. With Team USA taking on Team Finland at the Bell Centre in Montreal, we’re thinking that this game could be equally as explosive. On paper, however, this is a very lopsided matchup, and our USA vs. Finland prediction expects it to play out that way on the ice.

With some of the biggest names in the NHL facing off tonight, there are undoubtedly plenty of bets to make and we have the best prediction, expert analysis, and even the best bet of the night.

USA vs. Finland Betting Odds

Team USA enters the tournament as one of the heavy favorites, while Finland is the longest shot on the board at +900 to win it all.

The Americans, of course, have the deepest roster in the tournament, and the difference in offensive firepower could be on full display in this matchup. They’ll be shooting to get the 3 points for a regulation win, however, if it goes into OT or even a shootout, only 2 points are up for grabs. Remember, of these 4 teams, the 2 with the most points at the end of the round-robin series will advance to the championship game in Boston.

USA’s Edge in Depth and Star Power

Team USA boasts an elite forward group. They have multiple 30-goal scorers across all 4 lines which just goes to highlight the depth they have coming into the tournament.

Their 3rd line of J.T. Miller, Matt Boldy, and Brady Tkachuk is totally capable of being a top line for almost all NHL teams, and their 4th line of Vincent Trocheck, Brock Nelson, and Dylan Larkin isn’t far behind, either. These are all top-6 players but they’re not even the top lines for Team USA.

On the other side of the ice, the Americans have arguably the best blue line in the tournament. Adam Fox, Charlie McAvoy, and Zach Werenski headline a deep, mobile group of NHL stars that can push the pace and shut down Finland’s limited scoring threats.

However, if Finland does happen to make it past this elite defense, there’s one more they have to get through.

In goal, Connor Hellebuyck is having a Vezina-caliber season. At this point in the season, he’s easily the best netminder in the NHL.

He leads the NHL with an eye-popping .925 save percentage and 2.06 goals-against average, plus by most advanced metrics he’s the league’s top goalie this year. By comparison, Juuse Saros for Team Finland has struggled all season, posting just a .898 SV% and 2.95 GAA for Nashville.

Finland’s Uphill Battle

Finland is unfortunately missing its best defenseman, Miro Heiskanen. This leaves an already thin blue line even weaker.

In their limited time together, they’ve been practicing with 5 forwards on their top power-play unit, a sign that they don’t trust their defense to contribute too much offensively.

Urho Vaakanainen who only has 164 NHL games in 7 years and Nikolas Matinpalo with only 22 career NHL games will have their hands full trying to contain USA’s high-powered attack. That’s not a lot of experience in the crease so they might be relying on Saros a bit more despite his dismal numbers.

Offensively, Finland has some strong individual talent. This includes Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, and Sebastian Aho, all of which are undeniably stars of this team, but they lack the overall firepower and depth to keep up with the Americans.

Their forward depth is one of the weakest in the tournament, and against a team like the USA, that’s going to be a big problem.

USA vs. Finland Prediction and Best Bet

This game should be all USA from the first face-off. The Americans are much deeper at every position, they have much better goaltending, and they can roll 4 dangerous lines that Finland simply can’t match. This is a one-sided game all day.

• HelloRookie’s Prediction: Team USA 5, Team Finland 2
• Best Bet: USA -1.5 (-110)

Finland’s lack of defensive depth and struggles in the net makes it hard to see them keeping this game relatively close. Even if Saros stands on his head, the sheer firepower of the USA forward group should be too much for Finland to shut down.

We expect a comfortable multi-goal win for the Americans as they start their 4 Nations Face-Off campaign with a dominant performance and notching 3 points in their opener.

4 Nations Face Off Schedule