The USA opens its tournament with a game against Finland.
The latest: The Fins are heavy underdogs against a star-studded American roster that features a few of the NHL’s top point scorers. For my best bet, I’ll take USA to cover the puck line.
Check out the latest Finland vs. USA odds for Feb. 13.
Finland vs. USA odds
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USA’s roster may have the most firepower of the lot at this tournament. Auston Matthews, Jack Eichel, the Tkachuk brothers, and Jack Hughes — that’s just a handful of names on this roster.
It’s the only roster that matches Canada on paper while the country carries a distinct advantage in goaltending, but more on that later.
Quinn Hughes will sadly miss the tournament with an injury and he was replaced by Jake Sanderson of the Ottawa Senators.
Finland, the widest underdog to win this competition, still has quality star power, though it will be missing standout defenceman Miro Heiskanen.
Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen and Sebastian Aho are the most notable forwards.
The Fins should be fine with Juuse Saros in net but lack defence. Niko Mikkola and Esa Lindell lead the way on the first line.
4 Nations Face-Off best bet
Best Bet: USA -1.5 (-121)
As previously mentioned, USA has the offence to score in bunches. But I believe the nation’s goalies are who really stand out.
Jake Oettinger could make a case to start for any team in this competition but will play the role of backup to Connor Hellebuyck.
Take a look at his stats in the NHL this season and where they rank among goalies:
- .925 SV% (2nd)
- 2.06 GAA (1st)
- 34 wins (1st, Oettinger is 2nd with 26)
- 6 shutouts (1st)
It’s not far-fetched to say the offence, defence and goaltending are stacked on this roster so I expect a big showing to start things off.
Key stat: Three of the NHL’s top-10 point scorers are on the USA’s roster (Kyle Connor, Eichel, Hughes).
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.