Ice Hockey World Championship Group Stage, Thursday, 16.05.2024
After the DEB team was knocked out of the group stage, we’d like to call for a Germany-wide IKEA boycott out of sheer disappointment.
But of course that would only be something for sore losers! The three-crown team was clearly superior to Germany in all areas.
And just as the eagle bearers were put to the test last Tuesday, my Kazakhstan Sweden tip is that the men from the Caspian Sea are now in for a very similar thrashing
Some tips I make with more confidence, some with less. But even before the game started, there was no doubt in my mind that I could have selected a much higher handicap for my successful Germany-Sweden bet.
The 6:1 victory for the Scandinavians was a foregone conclusion! No team at the 2024 Ice Hockey World Championship has been able to inspire me as much as the Swedish selection in the first two periods of the game against the DEB selection.
The pace was slowed down a little at the back, but who could blame SWE? The tournament is still long and by this point the northern Europeans were already 5 goals ahead
With 14 NHL superstars in tow and the best first line of this tournament, I have no doubt that Sweden will deal with Kazakhstan in a similar fashion as they did with Germany.
The Kazakhs are almost all active in the KHL and therefore used to first-class ice hockey, but they were unable to build on their surprising 3-1 opening win over France.
The two subsequent group games against Slovakia (2:6) and Latvia (0:2) were lost in a way that doesn’t make me think they can suddenly stand up to the toughest team at this tournament
Keep in mind: With a goal difference of 16:4, Sweden have both scored the most goals within Group B and at the same time conceded the fewest of all eight teams.
It is therefore obvious that the three-crown team functions perfectly in all positions and in all areas of the team. For me, SWE is therefore unsurprisingly the clear favorite for gold at the moment.
The German bookmakers not only agree with me on this assumption, but have also announced Kazakhstan Sweden odds that suggest that the next Swedish victory is just around the corner
With SWE win odds averaging 1.06, you’ll inevitably have to take more risks if you want to place a lucrative bet.
But don’t worry: Sweden has also shown this opponent in the past and should celebrate a resounding victory this year thanks to the surplus of first-class NHL professionals. Possibly by seven goals again?
After all, SWE have already dispatched the Kazakhs with clear results (7:2, 7:3) in their two previous competitive games at the 2006 Olympics and the 2016 World Championship
Alternatively to a bet of the type SWE wins with HC -3.5, as I have in mind, there are also other ways to boost your own payout.
For a goal bet, for example, three names come to mind: Karlsson, Burakovsky and Johansson.
Of these three names, it’s Erik Karlsson in particular who enjoys my full confidence with his five scoring points (3 goals, 2 assists). The Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman also has a whopping 2.40 goals per game
The Kazakhs’ 2-0 defeat against Latvia last Tuesday was also particularly bitter because their own efficiency on their own powerplay was a disaster.
Three Latvians landed on the penalty bench in the very first period – and yet Kazakhstan failed to capitalize on this.
If overpaying doesn’t bear fruit, the underdogs were even more unlikely to see any results in 5-on-5 field hockey against the technically superior Swedes
Conclusion: I just can’t imagine that this game will be much different than the DEB’s performance against Sweden a few days ago.
If the Scandinavians were able to tame the better-equipped team with the eagle on their chest, then everything should be wrapped up quickly against the Kazakhs.
Especially as the underdogs had already lost steam in their last two appearances and were unable to make their mark even in powerplay situations.
The Swedes’ gameplan, on the other hand, is in place and will take them all the way to the final – my Kazakhstan Sweden tip: SWE wins with HC -3.5.
