More Group B Olympics Hockey Predictions: Slovakia vs Germany
International Head-to-Head Record: Germany has a 11-6 record against Slovakia since 1994.
Time: 6:10 a.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST), 3:10 a.m. Pacific, Wednesday, February 18th
How to Watch: In Canada: SN, CBC, CBC Gem, TSN
In the United States: USA Network, Peacock
Location: Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy.
Slovakia and Germany will do battle in Milan in the early game on Wednesday. Slovakia went 2-1 in the group stage, while Germany went 1-2 in the group stage and defeated France in the qualifiers to get here.
The Slovakia Story
To prepare for the game, here are Slovakia’s projected lines. They will be updated prior to puck drop.
The Slovaks scored an upset victory over Finland last Wednesday, and they have stayed strong in order to win their group and land the third seed overall. They won the bronze medal in the Beijing Olympics in 2022. There were no NHL players in that tournament, but Juraj Slafkovsky tore the competition apart as a teenager. He is doing that again in these Olympics, with six points in three games so far. They have had a magical run up to this point, with just a handful of NHL players at their disposal.
The Germany Story
To prepare for the action, here are Germany’s projected lines. They will be updated prior to puck drop.
While Germany also does not have many NHL players on their roster, they have the elite offensive talent called Leon Draisaitl leading the charge. Draisaitl and Tim Stutzle have impressed so far, each with six points in four games. Despite that, their play so far in these Olympics has been rather underwhelming. Their qualifying game victory against France doesn’t tell us much either about their level of play coming into this.
Starting Goalies
Slovakia will likely start 24-year-old Samuel Hlavaj in the net. He was the goaltender who stole the game against Finland and has had a strong performance thus far in these Olympics. He has a 1-1 record, a 3.00 goals-against average, and a .934 save percentage in two starts in the tournament.
For Germany, veteran goaltender Philipp Grubauer will likely start. He has a 2-1 record, a 2.03 goals-against average, and a .934 save percentage in three games in the tournament. He had also been having his strongest-ever season with the Seattle Kraken, with an 11-6-3 record, a 2.43 goals-against average and a .916 save rate.
Prediction and Best Bets
This is essentially a toss-up of a game. The Germans will undoubtedly rely on their top-end talent in hopes of overwhelming the Slovaks, but Slovakia has shown that they can play a balanced game and surprise teams in that way. Expect a very close game. Can the story continue for Slovakia?
Prediction: Slovakia wins 3-2.
Best Bets
To wrap things up, here are our anytime goal scorer picks. On the Slovakia side, count on Juraj Slafkovsky to chip in once again on the Olympic stage. For Germany, we will pick leading scorer Tim Stutzle to contribute a goal. Stutzle is red hot. He has goals in three of Germany’s four games, and had a five game-goal streak with his NHL’s Ottawa Senators prior to the tournament.
Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images
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