Finland Vs. ROC Men’s Olympic Hockey Gold-Medal Game Schedule, Finals Odds, Picks, Predictions

A gold medal will be on the line in men’s ice hockey at the 2022 Winter Olympics tonight. The group stage and knockout round contests have finally revealed the two finalists: Finland and the Russian Olympic Committee.

Finland is seeking the country’s first ever gold medal in this event. The team is the only one to go without a loss in Beijing so far.

The Finns won all five of their matchups on the way to the championship game, besting Slovakia, Latvia and Sweden in the preliminary stage. The team then waltzed through the medal rounds, knocking out Switzerland by a 5-1 margin in the quarterfinals and toppling Slovakia 2-0 in the semifinals.

They’ll now face arguably their toughest test of the 2022 Winter Olympics in a plucky ROC squad that has persevered past a litany of challenges to reach this point.

After winning it all four years ago in PyeongChang, the ROC’s gold medal defense hasn’t gone too smoothly though.

While the team did win it’s opening pair of group stage games with shutouts versus Switzerland and Denmark, the ROC stumbled in a 6-5 loss to the Czech Republic to close out the round.

The ROC rebounded with another win over Denmark in the quarterfinals and outlasted Sweden by a 2-1 margin after eight rounds of an overtime shootout in the semifinals.

Despite the prior successes at the Winter Games, the ROC will be an underdog tonight against the surging Finns.

Read on to find out how you can watch this game, see the latest ice hockey odds courtesy of FanDuel and get a prediction on which country will leave Beijing with a gold medal.

2022 Winter Olympics Ice Hockey Schedule

Bronze Medal Game

• Slovakia vs. Sweden: Saturday, Feb. 19 at 8:10 a.m. ET, CNBC

Gold Medal Game

• Finland vs. Russian Olympic Committee: Saturday, Feb. 19 at 11:10 p.m. ET, USA Network

Both matches can be live streamed through the NBC Sports app, Peacock and NBCOlympics.com.

Men’s Ice Hockey Gold Medal Game Odds

Moneyline: Finland -120, ROC -102

Spread: Finland -0.5 (+140), ROC +0.5 (-172)

Puck line: Finland -1.5 (+280), ROC +1.5 (-400)

Total: Over 3.5 goals (-164), Under 3.5 goals (+134)

Finland vs. ROC Gold Medal Game Preview, Prediction

The ROC has been made an underdog for the gold medal game, the first time in this tournament the team isn’t favored.

The Russians were the odds-on favorite to win the gold going into the 2022 Winter Olympics, but now have to overcome a red-hot Finland to cash tickets for backers.

The Finns have been favored in all five of their games leading up to the gold medal clash, but their -120 odds tonight are the shortest they’ve seen in Beijing.

While the country has never stood atop the podium in men’s Olympic ice hockey, it has medaled in five of the last seven Winter Games.

It remains to be seen if the ROC can crack Finland’s rock-solid defense, as the Finns have not allowed an even-strength goal since the opening contest of the tourney. Considering the Russians have netted just five non-empty net goals over the last four games, it could be a tall task for this talented but struggling squad.

It’s hard to envision the ROC keeping pace with an opponent that is playing near-perfect hockey right now. The Finns weren’t whistled for a single penalty in the semifinals, defensively stymied Slovakia and bested a top-tier goalie in Patrik Rybar.

Goaltender Harri Sateri has been a wall for Finland, with the former Florida Panther most recently stopping all 28 shots sent his way in the semifinals.

The netminder, who leads the tournament with a .962 save percentage, spoke about how big it was for his country to be able to play for the gold and guarantee it’s best finish since the 2006 Torino Games:

“It’s huge for everybody individually, as a team and as a hockey country,” Sateri said. “It is a big thing.”

Sakari Manninen scored the go-ahead goal against the Slovaks in the previous game and is a candidate to win the tourney’s MVP award for his steady play.

Manninen is up to four goals during the 2022 Winter Olympics and is a major threat to slide another one through against the Russians this evening.

Finland may not have the KHL-level talent of its upcoming foe, but the team is performing far more cohesively as a unit and is a fantastic value bet to win the gold medal at -120.

Pick: Finland ML (-120)

Prediction: Finland 2 – ROC 1