Will the Vikings also surprise against the defending champions?

On Wednesday the teams in Group B in men’s ice hockey opened the tournament and on Friday it’s already back to the second matchday. The Olympic newcomer from Denmark will take on the defending champions from Russia. Even if you wouldn’t have thought it before, it’s the top game in the standings.

Russia beat Switzerland in the opening match and Denmark won sensationally against the Czech Republic. The winner of this direct duel has the best chances to occupy one of the first two places in the group and possibly realise a direct entry into the quarter-finals.The mode at this Olympic ice hockey tournament is quite remarkable.

The three group winners and the best group runner-up make it directly to the quarter-finals. All the other eight teams have to start the play-offs in the round of 16. No one can be eliminated in this preliminary round. Perhaps that is one reason why the Danes were so carefree in their opening match. In the second group match between Denmark and Russia, however, the prediction is again in the direction of a Russian success.

However, if the Vikings manage to be as compact against the Olympic champions as they were against the Czech Republic, then it will probably be close again. We wouldn’t necessarily bet on many goals in this duel.

Denmark – Statistics & current form

The 37-year-old Danish captain Frans Nielsen has had a terrific career. He has played over 900 games in the NHL and played in several world championships. What he lacked was participation in the Olympic Games. If he had stayed in the NHL, that dream would probably have died forever, but after his trade last October to the Eisbären Berlin, the Danish veteran made his debut under the sign of the rings on Wednesday.

Danish Lions’ winning streak

The Danes have really come together as a unit in recent months. Last August there was the final qualification for the Winter Games and the Danish Lions held their own. They have now won eight games in a row, and with this streak behind them, it is worth considering playing the odds between Denmark and Russia on Heinz Ehlers’ team to win.

The opening game of the Danes against the Czech Republic was already curious. The Vikings mainly defended their own goal, then scored the first Olympic goal in the history of Danish ice hockey early on after a deflected shot by Markus Lauridsen. Still in the first period, Frans Nielsen used a penalty to take a 2:0 lead.

At the latest now the starting signal for a defensive chasm had been given. The Czechs scored the equaliser early in the middle period, but the favourites were also unable to take advantage of three overtime periods. Seconds before the end, the Danes were lucky when the puck hit the post. But it was enough for the first victory for the Danes in the first Olympic ice hockey match.

The squad of Denmark:
Goal: Dichow, Dahm, Galbraith
Defence: O. Lauridsen, Nicholas Jensen. M. Lauridsen, Jensen Aabo, Bruggisser, Kristensen, Lassen, Larsen
Attack: Nielsen, Regin, Madsen, J. Jensen, Jakobsen, Poulsen, Storm, Bödker, Russell, Nicklas. Jensen, Hansen, Meyer, Asperup, Olesen
Head Coach: Ehlers

Russia – Statistics & current form

Russia are the reigning Olympic champions and showed four years ago in Pyeongchang that this team is not dependent on NHL legionnaires. All of the Sbornaja’s players are under contract in the KHL, which can definitely be understood as a sign of quality overall. The KHL is probably the second best league in the world, right after the NHL.

Sbornaja with room for improvement

The fact that the Russian team is not allowed to compete with its own flag only spurs Alexei Zhamnov’s team on even more. All the players know that they are on the ice for Russia. That was already the case in Pyeongchang and this year, too, the Russians want to take home the gold. Before the Olympic Games, the Sbornaja was allowed to compete under the Russian flag, but conceded three defeats at the Germany Cup against the DEB team, against Slovakia and against Switzerland.

It doesn’t sound as if the gold medal has to be hung around the neck of the defending champions ahead of time. That was also clear in the opening match, when they struggled mightily against Switzerland. In the end, it was a hard-fought 1-0 victory. The goal was attributed to Anton Slepyshev, but was actually an own goal by the Swiss.

With a performance like that, it will be hard to even compete for the medals in the end, but the potential is definitely there. On Friday, the Russians will look to secure one of the first two places with a victory. We think that the tendency between Denmark and Russia should already go to a victory of the Sbornaja.

The Russia squad:
Goal: Fedotov, Samonov, Bilyalov
Defence: Yelesin, Telegin, Voynov, Sharipzynov, Yakovlev, Nikishin, Minulin, Nesterov
Attack: Voronkov, Andronov, Karnaukhov, Plotnikov, Galiev, Kayumov, Grigorenko, Tkachyov, Slepyshev, Chibisov, Gritsyuk, Shipachyov, Semyonov, Gusev
Head Coach: Zhamnov

Denmark – Russia Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance

The Russian team will compete at the Olympic Games again this year as a participant of the Russian NOK. In the direct comparison, however, we must of course also take Russia’s games into consideration. There are twelve games against Denmark. All of these twelve games ended with a victory for the Russian team.

The last match was in May last year. The two teams faced each other in the group phase of the World Cup. There, the Russians won clearly with 3:0. However, the Sbornaja had a hard time in that match and also there it became clear that the Danes have a team that consists of many defensive artists.

Denmark – Russia Tip

Denmark can be very happy with the start of this team’s first Olympic Games. There was a 2:1 victory against the Czech Republic. This gives Denmark a total of eight wins in a row, with the Czech Republic by far the biggest name of the teams they have defeated. This match showed that a lot is possible even for the Danish underdogs.

The Russians, on the other hand, as gold favourites, had a very hard time against Switzerland. At the end of the day, however, they won 1:0.

But we think the Russians will win this game and have seen in the analysis where the Danish defence can be cracked. While we don’t expect a goal festival, we do expect the Sbornaya to secure their second win. We have decided to play the betting odds on a handicap win (-1.5) for the Sbornaja between Denmark and Russia