IIHF World Championship Semifinals Preview

United States to be Tested by Finland in Semis

There isn’t a world championship quite like the IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, coinciding with the NHL’s Stanley Cup Playoffs each year. Thus, the players from the United States and Canada are usually from teams that either didn’t qualify for the postseason or were eliminated early.

Rosters don’t change daily, but there are times when it feels that way. The U.S. and Canada join Finland and the Czech Republic in Saturday’s semifinals. There will be plenty of familiar names for fans who tune into the NHL.

Host Finland kicks things off, opposing the United States (7:20 p.m. ET). That’s followed by the Czech Republic meeting Canada (11:20 p.m. ET). Winners will play in Sunday’s gold-medal game (1:20 p.m. ET), with the games televised by NHL Network.

David Krejci is among the players who took part in the Olympics (Czech Republic) and also has his team in contention for a medal in the World Championships.

The hockey betting lines had Canada favored coming into the tournament, with the U.S. as second choice,

Finland vs the United States

Finland won Group B with a 7-0-1 record, scoring 25 goals and allowing only five during pool play. It was more of a struggle for the U.S.,  which went 3-2 in regulation and added two overtime wins to finish fourth in Group B. Thus, a quarterfinal meeting with Group A winner Switzerland, the only undefeated team in the tournament.

Switzerland features NHL stars Nico Hischier of the New Jersey Devils and Timo Meier of the San Jose Sharks. Ryan Hartman (Minnesota Wild) and Seth Jones (Chicago Blackhawks are noteworthy names for the Americans.

Bruins’ goalie Jeremy Swayman has been a revelation since joining the U.S. squad after Boston’s first-round loss (to Carolina) in the playoffs. Swayman had 33 saves in the 3-0 shutout of the Swiss. Ben Meyers scored two goals, while Adam Gaudette had the other goal.

Marko Anttila scored twice after Slovakia took a 2-0 lead, but Sakari Manninen and Saku Maenalanen had third-period goals as Finland advanced with a 4-2 win. Jussi Olkinuora only needed to make 19 saves.

Defenseman Miro Heiskanen (Dallas Stars) and forwards Mikael Granlund, (Nashville Predators), Joel Armia (Montreal Canadiens) and Esa Lindell (Dallas Stars) are the prominent NHL Finnish players.

Defenseman Mikko Lehtonen leads Finland with nine points and is +9 in the tournament. Manninen and Granlund each have four goals in the tourney.

Olkinuora is leading the tournament with a .976 save percentage (121 saves on 124 shots). Swayman is close behind at .969. Olkinuora has a goals-against average of 0.50, while Swayman comes in at 0.69. So, don’ look for an Edmonton Oilers-Calgary Flames sort of offensive showcase.

Ten players on the U.S. are under 25, including 20-year-old Thomas Bordeleau and 18-year-old Luke Hughes.

The U.S. has the third-rated penalty kill, but just the 13th-best power play. Gaudette and Meyers lead the way with four goals and two assists each, Kieffer Bellows has three goals and two assists, while Alex Galchenyuk also has five points. The U.S. has three goals and 15 assists from its defensemen.

Finland has the top penalty-killing team, and is fifth on the power play. It isn’t often in recent years to see the U.S. listed by the NHL Vegas odds as the underdog, but that’s the case this time with Finland having looked like the better team during the tournament.

Canada vs the Czech Republic

The Czech Republic has nine NHL players on the roster, and that doesn’t include former Boston Bruin center David Krejci. With Krejci being joined by David Pastrnak, Tomas Hertl, and Jakub Vrana, generating offense is no problem. This is the top power play in the tournament, converting at 38 percent with the man advantage.

Roman Cervenka is the top scorer in the tournament with 14 points (four goals and 10 assists). Krejci has 10 points, Pastrnak seven (including four goals). Matej Blumel also has four goals to go with four assists. Do not look for much in the way of point production from the defense.

Karel Vejmelka of the Arizona Coyotes had a 1.44 goals-against average, with a save percentage of .934.

Eric O’Dell (forward) and Matt Tomkins (goalie) are the only Canada players currently unaffiliated with NHL teams.

Canada is fortunate to be here, as it took a three-goal, third-period rally, then a Drake Batherson overtime goal, to get past Sweden in the quarterfinals. There are 13 forwards with at least two points in the tournament. Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Winnipeg Jets has seven goals and five assists, Batherson has three goals and eight assists, while Adam Lowry and Dylan Cozens have combined for seven goals and 10 assists.

New Jersey Devils defensemen Ryan Graves and Damon Severson each have seven points, and a combined +14..

Goalies Chris Driedger and Logan Thompson each have save percentages under .900, so it’s the offense that’s carried Canada this far.