Olympic Men's Hockey: Predicting Each Quarterfinal Matchup

The Olympic men's hockey tournament has completed its qualification playoff round, and only eight teams remain in the hunt for a medal.

We went 3-for-4 with our predictions for the qualifying games, as Germany beat France 5-1, Switzerland beat Italy 3-0, Czechia beat Denmark 3-2, and Sweden beat Latvia 5-1.

Now, it's time to predict how the four quarterfinals will go on Wednesday.

Without further ado, let's predict the next four matchups, with game times listed.

Prediction: Slovakia beat Germany 4-2

Team Germany won its qualifying-round matchup by hammering France. And Slovakia pulled off one of the bigger upsets of the Olympic tournament by beating Finland in their first game.

So while the Germans have more NHL-level talent than the Slovaks, we've liked Slovakia's overall performance more than Germany's.

In terms of a score for this game, we expect it to be a one-goal game until the Slovaks score an empty-netter to win by a pair. And although Germany will almost assuredly get a strong performance from their best players – we're talking specifically about Edmonton Oilers star center Leon Draisaitl and Ottawa Senators pivot Tim Stutzle – the Slovak team will be playing free and easy knowing they've already exceeded expectations.

Call this one a hunch, but Germany is still at a point in their development where they can experience a backward competitive step. And although this game will likely come down to the final few minutes of regulation time, we see Slovakia edging out the Germans and moving on to the quarterfinals.

Prediction: Canada beat Czechia 4-0

Team Canada marauded its way through the round-robin, never coming anywhere close to losing a game. Meanwhile, Team Czechia has had a much tougher go of it, narrowly beating Team Denmark 3-2 on Tuesday. 

Czech goalie Lukas Dostal of the Anaheim Ducks hasn't had the greatest tournament, posting an .879 save percentage and a 3.65 goals-against average in three games. Dostal was better in Czechia's win over Denmark, but he faced only 12 shots in the qualifying game.

Against Canada, Dostal is going to be in much more serious trouble, as evidenced by the Canadians' 5-0 romp over the Czechs, when Canada fired 36 shots on Czechia's net.

Canada have looked every bit the powerhouse most observers believed they'd be prior to the Olympics beginning. With Oilers superstar Connor McDavid, San Jose Sharks phenom Macklin Celebrini and Pittsburgh Penguins icon Sidney Crosby on their side, the Canadians should be able to handle the Czechs with relative ease. So long as St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington doesn't collapse under the pressure of the game, Canada will be far too much for Czechia to handle.

Prediction: Switzerland beat Finland 5-4

The Finns have been a Jekyll-and-Hyde team to this point in the Olympics, dropping their first game to Slovakia before winning their next two games over Sweden and Italy. And we see their game against the Swiss team being a rollercoaster contest, with Switzerland pulling off a massive upset.

The Swiss team has thrived in no small part due to the contributions of their NHL players, including New Jersey Devils right winger Timo Meier – who leads the team with three goals and seven points in four games – as well as Nashville Predators defenseman Roman Josi, Devils center Nico Hischier and Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman J.J. Moser, who each have four points. 

The Finns aren't going to lay down for anyone, but goalie Juuse Saros of the Preds has been hit-or-miss. While we expect Finland to give Swiss goalie Leonardo Genoni a tough time, Team Switzerland is the dark-horse pick to win.

Prediction: United States beat Sweden 3-2 in overtime

Team USA has had some jitters in its round-robin play, but in the end, it won all three games by a combined score of 16-5.

They've dealt with a bit of adversity, but the U.S. remains the co-favorite with Canada to win gold at this tournament, thanks to excellent performances from Toronto Maple Leafs star center Auston Matthews (who has a team-high three goals and five points) and Florida Panthers left winger Matthew Tkachuk (who has a team-best five assists).

The Swedes handled Latvia rather easily, but they had a blip on their radar when Finland beat them 4-1 earlier in the tournament. They're now going up against an American group that has better depth than them in every area.

It's going to take contributions from up and down Sweden's lineup for them to upset the U.S., but that's definitely a possibility if the Swedish goalie stymies the Americans and gives his team a chance to wear down the United States' attack.

Sweden got key goals against Latvia from marquee players, such as Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings, Gabriel Landeskog of the Colorado Avalanche and Filip Forsberg of the Predators, as well as forwards Mika Zibanejad of the New York Rangers and William Nylander of the Maple Leafs. But they're going to need all the offense they can muster to counter the waves of skilled players the Americans will send their way.

But Team USA has an embarrassment of riches to rely on, and that will ultimately give it the edge to move on to the semifinal.

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