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[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Face-off: 1420 BST, 26/05/2022
Arena: Tampere Deck Arena
We’ve reached the business end of the IIHF World Championship and a tight tussle is expected when Canada face Sweden in the quarter-finals.
The Swedes were more convincing during the group stage, but the defending champions will not give up their title without a fight.
Punters can get 4.1 for this tie to go to overtime and that is the first of our Sweden vs Canada predictions.
Sweden finished second in the ultra-competitive Group B, securing five wins in regular time versus Austria, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Norway and Latvia.
It is noteworthy, though, that their two toughest tests both ended in stalemate after 60 minutes.
Hosts Finland were shaded 3-2 following a shootout, while the Swedes went down 3-2 to the United States in overtime.
William Nylander has impressed since arriving late from the Toronto Maple Leafs and scored the only goal of the game against Latvia last time out.
Boston Bruins goalie Linus Ullmark enjoyed a shutout in that contest and Magnus Hellberg of the Detroit Red Wings has also shone between the posts.
There has been a much more professional approach this year, with Sweden narrowly missing out on the knockout rounds 12 months ago.
Forward Joakim Nordstrom said: “Our main goal was to qualify for the quarter-finals and to put ourselves in a good position.
“It’s crunch time now. Our expectations on ourselves are always to fight for medals.
“Last year didn’t pan out the way we wanted to but here we are now and we’ve put ourselves in a good spot, but there’s a lot of work left to be done.”
Johan Garpenlov’s side may just be sharper early on after coming through some tough battles so far and 1.85 for them to score first appeals from the Sweden vs Canada odds.
Canada also picked up five victories during the pool stage but emerged from the weaker Group A with plenty of questions to answer.
Slow starts and sloppy defensive play were evident throughout, culminating in a 6-3 loss to Switzerland and a 3-2 defeat by Denmark in consecutive outings.
The holders did at least knuckle down and deliver a dominant 7-1 triumph over France in their final fixture, though.
Ottawa Senators forward Drake Batherson has been one of the better players so far and he provided four assists against Les Bleus.
Pierre-Luc Dubois of the Winnipeg Jets had two goals and an assist, while Buffalo Sabres front man Dylan Cozens posted three points as well.
Columbus Blue Jackets teenager Cole Sillinger said: “I think we’re a team that looks ahead of us – and right now that’s the medal round.
“That’s what we’re focusing on here and the good news is, it doesn’t matter what happened in the preliminary round.
“It’s all about what’s going to happen coming up here next. So, we’re ready for that.”
Canada have the inconvenience of switching from Helsinki to Tampere but that was a confidence-boosting display versus France.
The holders improved during the playoffs last year and 1.9 for them to qualify for the semis again completes our Sweden vs Canada betting tips.
Additional stats
Last results:
SWEDEN 1-0 Latvia
CANADA 7-1 France
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IIHF World Championship betting NHL betting
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