USA vs. Canada Odds & Pick: 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics Hockey

Sunday afternoon will mark the culmination of what has been a very eventful Men’s Olympic Hockey tournament. It is being played by two teams that have a little revenge on their minds – the US wanting to avenge a Gold Medal final loss eight years ago in Salt Lake City and the Canadians wanting to avenge a 5-3 loss to the Americans during the Round Robin portion of the tournament.

Moneyline Odds: Canada: -210 : USA: +160
Sunday 3pm EST on NBC
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Team Canada had been on quite a rollercoaster ride during the 2010 Olympics. They started somewhat slowly against Norway, had a “hiccup game” against the Swiss and then fell flat against the USA in the Round Robin. Canada was relegated to the Qualification Round to the chagrin of most Canadians. Who could have predicted that an extra game and a little humble pie was what Team Canada needed to find their groove and to reach their potential? Canada dismantled Team Germany and defeated a stubborn Slovakia to earn a spot in Sunday’s Gold Medal final.

For Team Canada, it is not the veterans that have been getting it done in these Olympics. Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger have had flashes in this tournament but have also disappeared at times. It is the youngsters that have been leading the way. Shea Webber and Drew Doughty on Defense and Ryan Getzlaf, Correy Perry and Jonathan Toews on offense have really carried Team Canada to this point. The veteran presence of Martin Brodeur in goal for Canada was an experiment that largely failed, handing Canada’s International Hockey reigns to Roberto Luongo who has played good, mistake-free hockey thus far.

The youth movement is on for Canada’s International Hockey program and it is a good thing. Canada is going to need every bit of their youthful energy to slow down the high flying Americans on Sunday.

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Team USA has been on quite a roll during this Olympic tournament. They are 5-0 and show no signs of letting up. The Americans have fed off of their underdog roll so far but have emerged on everyone’s radar now. General Manager Brian Burke built this team to be difficult to play against. He picked players with speed, grit and a physical element and it has worked wonders. They have developed a tremendous chemistry and they enjoy a surprisingly balanced attack with a different player stepping up seemingly every game.

Team USA is not the collection of established Superstars that Team Canada is, they are a group of young , budding stars that we will be hearing from for a long time. The future of USA Hockey has developed quicker that most imagined – here they are in the Gold Medal Final of the Olympic Games. The youthful Patrick Kane, Zach Parise and Paul Statsny have been excellent for the American squad, they young defense that includes Jack and Erik Johnson and Brian Rafalski have been stellar and goaltender Ryan Miller is demonstrating to the world why he is regarded as the beast goalie on the planet right now.

Sunday’s Gold Medal final is one that not many predicted but is one that is deserved. Like it or not, the Canada-US rivalry has supplanted the Canada-Russia rivalry that dominated the International Hockey world for the past 40 or so years. Canada will battle nerves but I think that they learned enough from their 5-3 loss to the Americans during the Round Robin to improve and defeat Team USA for Gold on Home Ice. “Oh Canada” will be sung by every Canadian with a voice on Sunday afternoon!

USA vs. Canada Pick: Team Canada in a 5-4 thriller! (The Total currently sits at 5 ½ goals – it is something to ponder as well when making your Gold Medal bets) – Courtesy of Dave Bond: Betus.com News Feed: Featured on Handicapperspicks.com

Related posts:

1. Free NHL Hockey Betting Picks: December 23rd 2009