Will the Sbornaja win another Olympic Gold?

The Olympic Games are coming to an end and traditionally the grand final of the men’s ice hockey tournament takes place on the last day. The planners have saved this highlight as an overture for the closing ceremony and probably the two best teams of the tournament will play for gold. Runner-up Finland will challenge the Olympic champions from Russia.

The quotes are close together. We also think this match is completely open. Both teams have shown throughout the tournament that they are very strong, especially defensively. It will become clear early on Sunday whose attack will provide the supposed golden moment.

We think it is possible that this final will not be decided in regulation time. Bets on a decision in overtime do not seem out of the question. Therefore, you can think about placing a bet on a draw after 60 minutes in the Olympic ice hockey final between Finland and Russia

Unfortunately, the final will already start at 5:10 am (CET). But die-hard hockey fans will not be deterred from watching this neighbourhood duel. But whether it will be worth it in terms of goals remains to be seen.

Finland – Statistics & current form

The fact that the Finns are capable of anything in hockey has not been known since yesterday. Most recently, the Dragons were world champions in 2019. There have been several medals at the Olympic Games. The last time Finland reached the final was in Vancouver in 2010. However, the Finnish team has not yet managed to hit the big time in the sign of the rings. On Sunday, the first Olympic victory in ice hockey beckons.

Without defeat in Beijing

After all, the Finns are the only team at this tournament in Beijing that has won all its players. Only against the Swedes did they have to go into overtime in the preliminary round. Otherwise, they have four wins in regular time. That certainly sounds like you need to check the odds on a Suomi win in the duel between Finland and Russia.

Moreover, Jukka Jalonen’s team has already shown its resilience at these Winter Games. They were 1-0 down against Slovakia in the group stage. They even lost 3-0 against the Swedes, but the Finnish team always came out on top. On Friday, they had to win against Slovakia again.

However, the underdogs fought back as hard as they could. Sakari Manninen took the lead in the first period. Afterwards, the game developed into an even contest. The Finns were very disciplined and did not allow themselves a single time penalty. In the final period, Finland was once again able to take advantage of an empty goal by their opponents. With 39 seconds left, Harri Pesonen made it 2-0.

The squad of Finland:
Goal: Säteri, Tuohimaa, Olkinuora
Defence: Pokka, Friman, Lehtonen, Kemiläinen, Hietanen, Lindbohm, Vatanen, Ohtamaa
Attack: Antilla, Aaltonen, Ojamäki, Björninen, Rajala, Nättinen, Filppula, Granlund, Manninen, Hartikainen, Komarov, Mäenalanen, Pakarinen, Pesonen
Coach: Jalonen

Russia – Statistics & current form

The Russians are a great winter sports nation and have also won several gold medals in Beijing. The Olympic victory with the greatest prestige, however, is the triumph in ice hockey. As the then Soviet Union, the Sbornaya won Olympic gold seven times. The only Olympic victory as Russia or the Russian Olympic Committee was in Pyeongchang in 2018.

Stable defence

Should they be able to defend the title on Sunday, it would be a continuation of the great Soviet hockey tradition. However, the Russians did not excel in Beijing. But this team distinguishes itself by being there in the decisive situations. Despite some problems in actually all tournament games, the Russians are now in the final.

At the same time, Alexei Zhamnov’s team presented itself as minimalist. That applies to the attack, but also to the defence. Only twice they managed a shootout without conceding a goal. In the five tournament games, there was only once more than one goal conceded. That sounds very clearly like a prediction of few goals in the match between Finland and Russia.

In the semi-final, the Russians had to bring everything on the ice. Although Anton Slepyshev put his team in the lead, the Swedes equalised. After 60 minutes and in overtime, the score was tied. So it was up to young Arseni Gritsyuk to convert the eighth and decisive penalty for victory and a place in the final.

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

Finland – Russia Direct Comparison / H2H-Balance

The national teams of the neighbours from Finland and Russia meet again and again for test matches outside of the major tournaments. To date, 30 duels have been recorded in the history books. The direct comparison is even in favour of the Finns with 15:14 victories. Only once did the two finalists part with a draw.

Three of the last four direct duels went to the Suomi team. The last encounter, however, was almost three years ago. At the 2019 World Cup in Slovakia, the Finns won 1-0 in the semi-finals after a goal by Marko Anttila and became world champions shortly afterwards. That should be a good omen for the Finnish team.

Finland – Russia Tip

In our view, Finland was the best hockey team at the Olympic Games in the Chinese capital. The runners-up won all their five games in Beijing and only had to go into overtime against Sweden. Even setbacks have not rattled the Finns and that is why we also see the Scandinavians as slight favourites on Sunday.

The Russians have rather struggled into this final, but have stood well, especially defensively. In attack, there are some players who can make the difference. That’s why you should never write off the Sbornaya.

But as far as the Olympic champion is concerned, it’s hard to say. We think the Finns should have the slightly better prospects. After all, Suomi has won three of the last four direct duels against the Russian selection. That’s why we decided to play the betting odds on a Finnish success in regulation time between Finland and Russia.