Olympic Hockey Preview: Canada with a prime chance to lock up number one seed vs. France

On the final day of Round Robin, Team Canada has an opportunity to lock up the top seed of the tournament with a win over France.

But there’s a bit more to it. To officially finish as the No. 1 seed, they need to beat France and maintain their lead on goal differential over the USA. Currently, Canada has a plus-9 goal differential compared to the Americans’ plus-7.

The level of competition remains in Canada’s favour, as they will take on France, who have zero points in Group A and a negative-7 goal differential. The Americans, however, will take on Germany, who has three points in Group C and a plus-1 goal differential.

Elsewhere around the tournament, Vancouver Canucks‘ Filip Hronek, David Kämpf, and the Czechs will take on Switzerland, with the winner of that game clinching the second seed in Group A. Then later in the day, Teddy Blueger and the Latvians will hope to clinch the second seed in Group C with a victory over Denmark.Switzerland vs. Czechia

Coverage for Team Switzerland vs. Team Czechia kicks off on February 15 at 3:10 AM PST / 12:10 PM local from Milano Santagiulia IHO. Viewers can watch on one of CBC, Bell Media (TSN) and Rogers Media (Sportsnet).

Here are the projected lines for tomorrow’s games, provided by Daily Faceoff.

With injuries to Kevin Fiala, Denis Malgin, and Andrea Glauser in their last game against Canada, there is too much uncertainty with how the Swiss will lineup for this all-important Group A match to include lines.

*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.

There are no confirmed goaltenders for tomorrow’s games at the time of this writing.

There is a real question mark as to who will get the start for the Swiss. One would lean toward Akira Schmid because he is in the NHL, but Leonardo Genoni is regarded as one of the best goaltenders in the world who is not playing in the NHL. Plus, he shut out the French in their opening game. So, this one is a true toss-up.

The Czechs’ goaltending decision to give Dan Vladar the start against France over Karel Vejmelka, who is tied for the league lead in wins, was questionable. However, it should tell us where he stands in the depth chart. With that said, we would project Lukas Dostal to get his second start of the tournament.

Nino Niederreiter: While we don’t exactly know the new line combinations the Swiss will use with their variety of injuries, if they want to stack the top line, Niederreiter would be the likely recipient of the promotion. And for good reason. Against the Canadians, Niederreiter had three Grade-A scoring chances, but could not capitalize on any of them. Don’t expect him to miss those opportunities two games in a row.

Tomas Hertl: Watching Hertl against France the other day, he had scoring chance after scoring chance, but just could not find a way to score. The Golden Knight is determined to find the back of the net for his country, expect him to be a big impact player in a very important game.

Canada vs. France

Coverage for Team Canada vs. Team France kicks off on February 15 at 7:40 AM PST / 4:40 PM local from Milano Santagiulia IHO. Viewers can watch on one of CBC, Bell Media (TSN) and Rogers Media (Sportsnet).

Here are the projected lines for tomorrow’s games, provided by Daily Faceoff.

*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.

Team Canada Head Coach Jon Cooper confirmed that Brad Marchand would draw back in for this matchup, but did not announce who would be coming out. Defenceman Josh Morrissey, who was injured in Canada’s opening game against the Czechs, will remain out.

Last game, we saw Nathan MacKinnon and Tom Wilson switch lines, with Nick Suzuki sliding into the middle. We’ll see if that Macklin Celebrini – Connor McDavid – Nathan MacKinnon line is something that Cooper sticks with.

*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.

There are no confirmed goaltenders for tomorrow’s games at the time of this writing.

With the day off on Saturday, both Jordan Binnington and Logan Thompson appear fresh and would be ready to go for this matchup. This choice will likely determine which goaltender Canada will go with to start the elimination stage.

After sitting out France’s last game, we would project Antoine Keller, who made 39 of 43 stops against the Swiss in their opening game, to get the start.

Thomas Harley: Since Josh Morrissey went down with an injury, Thomas Harley has done an admirable job of stepping up and filling in those massive shoes. He has logged the second-most ice time of any Canadian defenceman thus far, and has contributed offensively with a goal and two assists. Many were left surprised that he was named to the team after the season he was having, but when he’s representing the Maple Leaf, Harley finds another gear.

Louis Boudon: France did a great job to keep up with the Czech, scoring three quick second period goals – and Boudon had a hand in all of them. He scored two goals in three minutes and added a secondary helper less than two minutes later. It will be an uphill battle for the French, but Boudon’s got the hot stick heading into this matchup.

Denmark vs. Latvia

Coverage for Team Denmark vs. Team Latvia kicks off on February 15 at 10:10 AM PST / 7:10 PM local from Milano Rho Ice Hockey. Viewers can watch on one of CBC, Bell Media (TSN) and Rogers Media (Sportsnet).

Here are the projected lines for tomorrow’s games, provided by Daily Faceoff.

*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.

*Note. Teams start an extra forward (13) and defenceman (7) per game. The fourth pairing is the extra forward and defenceman.

There are no confirmed goaltenders for tomorrow’s games at the time of this writing.

Considering Mads Sogaard left early with an injury, and Frederik Dichow had to come in relief, it’s a fairly safe bet to assume Carolina Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen would get the start tonight.

Having come in relief on Thursday, winning Latvia’s first Olympic Men’s Hockey game since 2014, it would be shocking if we did not see an Arty Party with Arturs Silovs starting on Sunday.

Oliver Bjorkstrand: After logging a team-high seven shots on goal against the Germans, Bjorkstrand was held shotless against the Americans. That’s unusual for the sniper, who is his country’s primary shooter. He’s going to have to show up if he wants to help his nation get into the win column for the first time this tournament.

Arturs Silovs: We are banking on Silovs getting the start here. But if he does, he has proven he can single-handedly win his country an important game, as he did at the 2023 World Championships and on Saturday against the Germans. With a chance at locking up second place with a win (and a little bit of help from the USA), they should roll with Silovs.

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