Olympia Men, Group C, Matchday 2 on Saturday, 14/02/2026, 12:10 p.m.
The last five minutes of the opening game against Denmark were spent almost entirely in their own third. But no matter how hard the Scandinavians tried, Grubauer and his boys successfully saved the 3-1 lead over time.
High speed, a lot of commitment and enormous individual class with all due respect, but their own defensive behaviour still urgently needs to be coordinated. Nevertheless, I have a good feeling about my Germany Latvia tip on odds around 1.60.
The Eagles should also win the second group game within regular time, as Latvia is basically an opponent comparable to the Danes in terms of quality.
They will beat him, but in order to trust them to do something against the USA, I first have to see a significant increase in performance at the second Olympic appearance.
After only 23 seconds, Leon Draisaitl sank the puck into the Danes’ goal. Nevertheless, the game turned into a tough affair, in which the Scandinavians largely managed to compensate for the individual superiority of the Germans by means of team unity.
Basically, I see the selection of the DEB win on Saturday morning against a playfully comparable opponent in a very similar way. I would therefore not necessarily want to try too wild handicap bets in this relatively balanced duel.
Victory Germany with HC -1.5 leads to an approximate doubling of your bet in case of success and has only a little bit of “value” in my eyes. Because Latvia will manage to keep the game close until the end.
Victory Germany & over 4.5 goals, on the other hand, is a bet at Betano, which I put on my betting slip with far greater optimism after my impressions of the opening game of the Eagle Bearers.
Especially since the associated Germany Latvia odds of about 2.30 meet my personal requirements. The DEB selection is more of an “offensive team” – it plays energetically forward, but allows too much at the back.
After all, it cannot be denied that Denmark was closer to 3-2 with a positive shot ratio of 38 to 26 and a late hit on the crossbar on Thursday than Germany was closer to the empty-netter to 4-1.
As far as potential goal bets are concerned, in my eyes there are two players in the squad of the Eagle Bearers who I have to be at the top of my wish list after the impressions of the opening game against Denmark!
On a good sports betting app, however, you get odds around 2.55 for Goal: Tim Stützle, while you can expect even higher values around 4.25 for Goal: Moritz Seider.
I’ll leave Leon Draisaitl out at this point, because he only appeared sporadically after his lightning goal.
On the other hand, I have a good feeling that Seider can tear something. The defenseman is one of the most dangerous players in the National Hockey League at his position and already hit the crossbar with a tight long-range shot against the Danes.
With a bit of luck, he could score on the next power play. Especially since Latvia has already accumulated four penalties against the USA and thus often commits irregularities.
As far as the direct comparison is concerned, the fact that the DEB selection has won every duel against the Latvians since 2021 does not mean much.
Because the many NHL players who have not participated in a major international tournament in this form since 2014 make all previous encounters obsolete, so to speak.
But that’s exactly why I think that the Germany Latvia odds for a victory of the Eagle Bearers with an average of 1.60 are still quite acceptable. Because Team Germany has the more talented NHL superstars in its own squad compared to the Balts!
Conclusion: Germany is on the right track, but especially the energetic prevention of opponents’ shot attempts must be improved at all costs. The Danes simply finished far too often on Thursday!
Latvia is on a very similar level of play as the Danes, which is why I am again on the side of the DEB selection. However, I deliberately do not have a handicap this time either.
Players like Draisaitl, Stützle and Peterka can make the difference at any time, but if you want to win a medal, you have to continuously improve in terms of your own defensive behaviour.
