Men’s Hockey Quarterfinals Predictions

With all the preliminary games finished over the weekend and today’s four play-in games complete, the matchups are lined up for tomorrow’s quarterfinals in Men’s Ice Hockey.  As much as I enjoyed watching the prelim games, now’s when shit gets real.  Prelim heroes like TJ Oshie, Phil Kessel, Drew Doughty, and Alexander Radulov won’t be remembered for squat if their respective teams fail to do anything moving forward.  The matchups aren’t what most fans expected as there were some upsets in today’s games, but it doesn’t mean that tomorrow won’t be a day full of some great hockey.  Let’s take a look:

Sweden/Slovenia – Sweden is playing banged up with injuries to Henrik Zetterberg, Daniel Sedin, and Johan Franzen.  If not for the play of Henrik Lundqvist, the Swedes wouldn’t have held on to the number one seed in the tournament.   Slovenia (wherever that is), is comprised of the Kings Anze Koptiar, and 24 guys you’ve never heard of.  They pulled an upset win over Austria this morning to get in the quarterfinals.

Prediction:   With all due respect to Slovenia, they probably couldn’t beat a Swedish Elite team, no less a team that still boasts Erik Karlsson, Alexander Steen, and Daniel Alfredsson (among others).

Final - Sweden 5 Slovenia 1

United States/Czech Republic – No team has been better on the ice than the USA, outscoring their opponents 14-4 in the prelims.  Phil Kessel has led the way, leading all Olympic scorers with seven points.  The Czech’s offense has been inconsistent throughout the tournament, getting shutout by Switzerland and then pouring on five goals against Slovakia. 

Prediction:  Seasoned vets like Jaromir Jagr and Petr Nedved will do their best to give Jonathan Quick a run for his money, but the Czech defense won't be able to keep up with the American speed and pressure.   

Final – USA 4 Czech Republic 2

Canada/Latvia – Heading into the Olympics, the Canadians were gold medal favorites, but they’ve yet to put it together offensively.  Sidney Crosby only has two points so far and the coaching staff hasn’t committed to any actual lines.  Latvia pulled the biggest upset of the tournament by beating the Swiss (their lone win).

Prediction:  There was a lot of talk about the Swiss giving the Canadians some trouble in the quarterfinals.  With the Swiss eliminated, Canada’s been handed a tune-up game before heading into the semifinals.

Final – Canada 6 Latvia 0

Finland/Russia – In the first two games of the prelims, the Fins were an offensive machine scoring 14 goals.  Then injuries set in, most notably Aleksander Barkov and their offense was lost.  The host country Russians have arguably the most talented roster in the tournament but have struggled putting pucks in the net which resulted in two overtime games (a victory against Slovakia and a loss to the United States).

Prediction:   Even if the Russians should get it together, they’re facing one of the better defensive teams with the best goaltending trio in the tournament.  It’s an upset in the making.

Final – Finland 3 Russia 2

On A Side Note:  Today is my brother Joe's birthday.  He's an amazing brother as well as father, son, and husband.  He's the reason I go to Long Island to see some of the best future NHLer's play.  I love him to death.

Jay Platt can be reached at gimmeasign@gmail.com.  Follow Jay on Twitter @JayPlatt.  It’s a third person-free zone…