Czech Republic vs Slovakia – Gambling Picks 2010 Olympic Hockey

Olympic Hockey Preview – Czech Republic vs. Slovakia

Hey folks, looking for the best place on the web to get your Czech Republic vs. Slovakia Olympic hockey picks, and betting analysis? You’ve found it. Dave B will weigh in with his daily hockey predictions thru to the end of the 2010 olympic hockey tournament.

The 2010 Winter Olympics Ice Hockey schedule started on Tuesday the 16th. Next up is today’s action for Feb 17th at Noon Pacific we get Slovakia vs. the Czech Republic. We encourage you to check out Sportsbook.com and bet on the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice Hockey games and hockey lines online.

Tournament Preview: Group A features Canada, the United States, Switzerland and Norway. Group B features Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Latvia. Group C features Sweden, Finland, Belarus and Germany. After round 1 all teams are ranked. The winners of the four quarter final games will proceed to the medal round.

Czech Republic vs. Slovakia Live Odds

Moneyline: Czech -300, Slovakia +200
Spread: Czech -1 (-135), Slovakia +1 (-105)
Over/under: 5.5

Day 3 of the Men’s Olympic Hockey tournament features arguably the best and most anticipated first round game between former friends and now foes, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Not too long ago, the players on these teams would have been teammates, but with the reshaping of Europe towards the end of last century, the countries broke apart and thus formed two Hockey powers instead of one.

The oddsmakers see this as a close game as do most of the analysts with the Czech being slightly favored.

Although there is not a tremendous history between the two nations, there will be an element of bad blood between the two. In the 2006 Turin Games, the Slovaks were looking pretty good until they met the underachieving Czechs in the quarter finals and lost, ending their tournament on the sourest of notes. It is redemption time for Team Slovakia and it all starts with a Wednesday night tilt in Vancouver.

The Czech Republic is a decent team and will be looking for a strong start to their 2010 Olympic campaign. Approximately half of the Czech roster is currently playing for NHL teams and are main contributors for their present clubs. The remaining players mostly play in Russia’s Kontinental Hockey League where the money seems to be the lure (Jaromir Jagr).

This is a good team at the Forward position – Tomas Plekanek, Martin Havlat, Jagr Patrik Elias and Martin Erat should be able to generate enough Offense to make the Czechs a threat to win most games. The Defense is anchored by Tomas Kaberle and should be a solid, but unspectacular unit. The goaltending duties belong to Tomas Vokoun who has emerged as an elite NHL goalie.

The Czech Republic should be fine – they might even sneak in for a Medal. A strong start to their Olympic run is crucial both in the standings and for their confidence. A game against the Slovaks is the perfect formula for kick starting the intensity and chemistry for this team.

Slovakia’s make up mirrors the Czech Republic’s. They have an equal amount of NHL talent as they do have players from European Leagues. They have a solid group of Forwards with Marion Gaborik, Marian Hossa and Zigmund Palffy (remember him?). Zdeno Chara and Andrej Mezsaros will anchor the blue line and Jaroslav Halak will try to carry his recent NHL Hot streak into the Olympics.

Team Slovakia is a good team that had revenge on its mind. Knowing that they are viewed as underdogs in this game should serve as extra motivation for this team as well.

This promises to be the most highly contested of the first round games in this year’s Olympic Games. It is almost too close to call.

Slovakia vs Czech Republic Free Gambling Pick

I like the underdog Slovaks in this game to upset the Czechs and I also like this game to exceed the total of 5.5.

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