{"id":483531,"date":"2026-02-12T20:04:30","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:04:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=483531"},"modified":"2026-02-12T20:04:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:04:30","slug":"2026-winter-olympic-hockey-preliminary-round-predictions-france-czechia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2026\/02\/12\/2026-winter-olympic-hockey-preliminary-round-predictions-france-czechia\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Winter Olympics Hockey Preliminary Round Predictions with France vs Czechia"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to\u00a0Last Word On Hockey\u2019s <\/em>2026 Winter Olympics Hockey Predictions. Each day, our writers look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at a Group A matchup between France and Czechia<\/a>. Don\u2019t forget to check out more Olympic Predictions, as our writers continue this series throughout the Olympics.<\/p>\n

Olympic Predictions with Czechia and France<\/a><\/h3>\n

Head-to-Head Record: <\/strong>Czechia 5 – 0 France<\/p>\n

Time: <\/strong>10:40 a.m. Eastern Standard Time<\/p>\n

How to Watch<\/a>: <\/strong>Canada:\u00a0<\/strong>CBC Gem, CBC, Sportsnet, TSN
\nUSA:\u00a0<\/strong>Peacock, USA Network<\/h3>\n

We are well into the Olympic tournament now with all group’s playing their first games over the past couple of days. That includes the two teams featured in these predictions, France and Czechia. France has only one NHL player on their roster, a far cry from the 12 on the Czechia side of the ice.<\/p>\n

The French Angle<\/h3>\n

France is not the most hockey-centric place in the world, but they performed remarkably well to qualify for the Olympics. They finished fourth in the Olympic qualification tournament ahead of other nations, which include Norway and Austria, to be in this tournament. The opener did not go the way the French would’ve liked as they were shut out by Switzerland 4-0. Antoine Keller got the start in net for the French side, making 39 saves while the Swiss outplayed France in every way possible. It would be hard pressed for France to score on the Czechia net, the one who will have to lead the charge is their only NHLer in the Montreal Canadiens<\/a> forward, Alexandre Texier<\/a>. It’s unknown who will be in the net against Czechia for the time being.<\/p>\n

Czechia Bounce Back Expected<\/h3>\n

On the other side of the rink, Czechia was expecting to put up more of a challenge to their opening opponents. However, they were also held off the scoresheet as Canada walked away with a 5-0 victory over the Czech’s. The message in the room will surely be to reset and refocus on the easier opposition to try to get into the quarterfinals without playing the extra qualification game. Lukas Dostal<\/a> was between the pipes for Czechia, making 31 saves, including an incredible side-to-side save to rob Connor McDavid<\/a> on the one-timer down low. Either Daniel Vladar<\/a> or Karel Vejmelka<\/a> will likely take the starter’s net in the back-to-back scenario. The Czech’s will also have to lean on their stars in David Pastrnak<\/a> and Martin Necas<\/a> to provide the offensive spark.<\/p>\n

The Prediction<\/h3>\n

It will be an absolute nightmare if Czechia were to lose this game. Expect them to come out with gusto and look to pounce on any opportunity that develops. This game should not be close at any point as the Czech’s out class the French and run away with it.<\/p>\n

Prediction: <\/em>Czechia wins 6-1<\/p>\n

Best Bets<\/h3>\n

We’ll close this edition by providing our best prop bets for the game. The over\/under is currently 6.5; we’re taking the over. As for some player props, look for the French goaltender to be busy once again for a saves prop. On the Czech side, look towards Martin Necas for an anytime goal.<\/p>\n

Main Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images<\/span><\/p>\n

Please play responsibly, check for your local rules and age restrictions; some jurisdictions require ages 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to\u00a0Last Word On Hockey\u2019s 2026 Winter Olympics Hockey Predictions. Each day, our writers look at the games and give in-depth analysis. Our team breaks down the key matchups, storylines, and stats, then makes predictions based on how they might play out. For this edition, we will look at a Group A matchup between France […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5657,"featured_media":483567,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2963,4547,304,4548,4524],"tags":[8208,7091,8275],"class_list":["post-483531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-olympics","category-hockey","category-international-hockey","category-nhl","category-nhl-predictions","tag-2026-winter-olympics","tag-team-czechia","tag-team-france"],"modified_by":"Levi Pike, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483531","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5657"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=483531"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483531\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":483569,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/483531\/revisions\/483569"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/483567"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=483531"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=483531"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=483531"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}