Olympic Men, Quarterfinals on Wednesday, 18.02.2026, 12:10 p.m.
It doesn’t matter how the tournament has gone so far and whether the DEB selection has been beside itself in some games: From now on, the cards will be reshuffled – and I’ll tell you one thing: The chances are good.
There are no easy opponents from now on, but of all four seeded quarter-finalists, the Eastern Europeans are definitely the team most likely to be beaten by the Eagles.
Therefore, I stick to my Slovakia Germany tip that if the 2018 silver medalist can reach his potential, he will also qualify for the semi-finals in the end. They just have to play like they did against France!
It will be a really close affair – tighter than even the knowledgeable betting providers with a German license would expect. Just a few days ago, I would have agreed with the opinion of many experts that the Slovaks are better positioned at the Olympics.
Because their furious performance against Finland, in which every check was mercilessly completed, convinced me more than the three preliminary round games of the Germans together.
But the narrow 3-2 win over Italy or the subsequent defeat against Sweden make it clear that the Slovaks are only boiling with water and that the DEB selection actually has a chance – provided they perform like they did the day before against France!
Finally, JJ Peterka scored for the first time in these games. It was just great how he waited with the backhand strike at 3:0 until the opposing goalie was on the ground and then slid the puck over him!
JJ Peterka is therefore also my insider tip for this quarter-final. In my eyes, the man from the Utah Mammoth is the player with the best playing qualities to set accents against the Slovaks.
The Eastern Europeans have angular defenders who could have big problems with the pace and agility of Leon Draisaitl, but above all with the liveliness of Peterka.
What you can’t deny the DEB selection is that they start the games with a bang and only lose the thread at the end.
In any case, the Eagle Bearers managed to score 1-0 within the first five minutes of the game every time at these Olympic Games – something similar is also possible against the Slovaks!
Although the two nations faced each other a total of five times in the calendar year 2025 alone, I would personally pay more attention to a good bookmaker comparison than to a direct comparison.
Because four of these five matches were test matches. In addition, no other joint showdown since Germany’s World Cup victory in 2024 has had a comparable number of top players in action on both sides.
Both teams have a lot of quality in terms of NHL potential, but personally I would prefer the German superstars – if they find their way into the game well – over those of the Eastern Europeans.
Conclusion: It doesn’t matter how the tournament has gone so far. Sometimes a single game that generates momentum is enough to swing the pendulum in favor of your own team.
Especially in a duel that I would have classified as a 50:50 thing before the tournament started. Much is decided by the respective form on the day anyway and what undoubtedly speaks for the Slovaks in this context is the game-free Tuesday!
Nevertheless, I personally believe in the “magic of Pyeongchang”, when Germany could clean up the field from the back after a weak preliminary round!
