Opinion: My Men’s Olympic Hockey quarter final predictions

The Olympic Games are coming down to the wire. With that, so is Olympic hockey. For the first time since the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, NHL players have been able to participate.

This crucial component has given us quality hockey throughout the games. Now, with just five days to go as of the writing of this article, we have reached the quarter-final round. At this point, pretenders and contenders have been separated, and I am going to give you my predictions of who will survive this round.

Slovakia vs. Germany

Slovakia has been solid throughout this Olympic Tournament. Through the preliminary round, the Slovaks have collected wins over Finland and Italy. Their lone loss was in the prelims, which came at the hands of Sweden by a score of 5-3.

Helping the Slovaks collect these two wins is Juraj Slafkovsky, a Montreal Canadiens’ prospect, who is currently fourth in goal scorers across the whole tournament with three goals in three games.

Along with Slafkovsky, Martin Gernat is third in the tournament for points from a defenseman with four.

On top of the offensive production, Slovakia has one of the best goaltenders in the entire tournament. Samuel Hlavaj is currently ranked on the Olympics website as the 7th-best goaltender in the competition.

However, despite how well Slovakia is seemingly doing, Germany has far more firepower.

But, before we get into the talent the Germans carry, we have to address the rough road to the quarterfinal. On the bright side, Germany was able to beat both Denmark and France by a combined score of 8-2. But the other two games were not so kind to them.

To start, Germany took a shocking 4-3 loss to Latvia. Then, the next day, Germany lost again. This time, it was by way of a 5-3 beating from Team USA.

Even though the Germans have split through four preliminary games, the stats tell a different story. Ottawa Senators star forward Tim Stutzle and Edmonton Oilers’ star forward Leon Draisaitl rank No. 6 and No. 9 in scoring, respectively.

On top of that, Stutzle is tied for second in goals with four through the last four games. Then, Draisaitl is tied for 7th overall in assists with four. To top it all off, German and Seattle Kraken goaltender Philipp Grubauer is ranked as the 5th best goal tender in the tournament.

To me, the Germans' talent alone is enough to win them this game. I see the Germans taking it by a score of 5-2.

Finland vs. Switzerland

Finland has also been solid through the preliminary round. Although the Fins opened with a 4-1 loss to Slovakia, they then went on to beat Sweden 4-1 and Italy 11-0.

Although Finland has been on a scoring tirade the past two games, no player has stuck out as a scoring leader. Colorado Avalanche forward Joel Kiviranta ranks 9th in goals scored with two.

Behind him is a long tie for 10th that features Finish players such as Sebastian Aho, Joel Armia, Filip Chlapik, Mikael Granlund and Kaapo Kakko.

The only other bright spot for Finland is between the pipes. Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros is currently the 4th best goaltender in this Olympic Men’s Hockey tournament.

The same cannot be said for Switzerland. The lone loss the Swiss carry was courtesy of an absolutely loaded Canada squad. Other than that, Switzerland’s three prelim wins have come over France, Czechia and Italy.

Let’s start where we ended when talking about Finland. Switzerland has the number one-ranked goalie in the tournament: 38-year-old Leonardo Genoni.

Switzerland also has one of the best overall scorers in the tournament. New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier is third in the tournament in points with seven through just four games. Meier is also tied for 6th in goals with 3, and he is tied for 7th in assists with four.

The Swiss defenseman can also score. Roman Josi, Janis Moser and Dean Kukan all rank inside the top-ten for points scored by a defenseman.

Switzerland has the perfect combination of a strong offense and a shut-down goaltender. These factors allow me to believe that Switzerland will cruise to a 3-0 win over Finland.

Canada vs. Czechia

I’m going to keep this short. Canada went undefeated in the preliminary round. They have Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Macklin Celebrini, Nathan MacKinnon, Jordan Binnington, Cale Makar and so many others. Give me Canada. The score? A lot to a little.

The United States of America vs. Sweden

Along with Sweden and Canada, the United States is the only other squad to have gone undefeated in prelims. These wins have come over Latvia, Denmark and Germany.

While Switzerland has the best goalie in the tournament, the American goalie is not too far behind. The second-ranked goaltender in the tournament is the United States’ and Winnipeg Jets’ very own Connor Hellebuyck.

While the Americans haven’t been lighting it up in overall scoring, the goal scoring has had no shortage of spark. Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews has scored three goals in three games, tying him with Slafkovsky at the No.4 spot.

The story for the assists is much the same. Florida Panthers’ forward Matthew Tkachuk ranks third with five, and Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes is tied for 4th on the list with Mitch Marner and Sidney Crosby with four assists. Hughes also ranks 6th in scoring defensemen with four points through three games.

Although the Americans have been dominant, the Swedes have matched that dominance. Sweden claimed wins in all of its preliminary games over Italy, Finland, Slovakia and Latvia by a combined score of 19-7.

The Swedes have two of the top ten goaltenders, with New Jersey Devil Jacob Markstrom at 7th and Minnesota Wild net-minder Filip Gustavsson at 10th.

The Swedes also have one of the best overall scorers in the Olympics. Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond is second behind Connor McDavid in overall scoring with a total of eight points in four games.

Shockingly, Sweden does not have a top-ten goal scorer. But, Raymond, Rasmus Dahlin and Erik Karlsson all rank inside the top-ten for assists.

Finally, Sweden has the best scoring defenseman in this year’s Winter Olympic Games. Dahlin has a total of five points through four games.

There is definitely revenge in the hearts of all American hockey fans after the 6-3 loss to Sweden in this year’s World Junior Championship. Although that has almost no effect on the players in the Olympics, it certainly adds more of a reason to watch this game.

This game in particular, I believe, will be an offensive spectacle. An offensive spectacle that will see the United States of America earn a 5-3 win.

The preliminary match starts early on February 18th as Slovakia will take on Germany. Puck drop for that game is set for 6:10 AM, and it will be broadcast on NBC.

Max Malec is a first-year student majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email mvm7264@psu.edu.