WJC: Quarter Final Talk!

[Czechboy]

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[Rob]

Canada vs Czech is the toughest to call

 

[Czechboy]

I'll go first.lol

Congrats to Latvia.. it wasn't looking good.

I feel bad for Germany. They beat the Finn's and had a lead on Canada. If they won they were second. They lost and play Norway for relegation.

On to the quarters.. they don't look that great to be honest:

Sweden should take out the Swiss in a nice controlled manner. 4-1.
US should take out Latvia in a steamrolling. 7-0.
Slovakia had such a good round robin and gets Finland as a reward... I like both nations and think this is the game of the day. I'll go with my heart and say Slovakia 4-3 in a shootout.
Czechs and Canada in a rematch of the gold medal game....

I'd argue we are both weaker than last years teams that met in the finals. Canada is obviously the better nation and has higher pedigree and higher drafted players. Czechs, I feel, can compete with anyone on a good day. 7 game series I take Canada every time. 1 game quarter... I think it's 50-50 this time. I like our goalie more and I think Kulich, Sapo and Sale would all make Team Canada this year. Our D is solid unlike the last 15 years. My brain says Canada 3-0. Going with my heart... Czechs 4-3 after Hrabals best performance and Kulich scoring a clutch goal.

 

[shaner8989]

Finland 3-2
USA 8-1
Sweden 5-1
Canada 5-3

 

[Czechboy]

 

[Svedu]

Winning teams:
USA
SWEDEN
SLOVAKIA
CZECHIA

But in a semi, I do believe Canada would be a tougher opponent than the Czechs for the Swedes. But Canada aren't necessarily better than the Czechs and I don't think their stars have been on the same level as Sapovaliv, Kulich and perhaps even Sale (in one game).

 

[ORRFForever]

Czechia (and Slovakia) owe Canada. I would not be surprised to see Canada lose in the quarters. Hopefully not.

Canada vs the U.S. in the GMG, two different styles, would be awesome. Hopefully we see it.

 

[Namejs]

Having seen nearly all games, I'm going for Sweden, Finland, the US and Canada.

Canada seemed disjointed when things were not going their way and they actually looked bad at times against Germany, so Czechia still has a fighting chance.

Finland improved massively in their last 2 games and are on an upward trend, while Slovakia got spanked and conceded 10 and looked terrible at the end of their last round-robin game against the only medal favorite they faced.

If any of the two remaining QFs get interesting at any point after the 1st period, that would already be a big win. Not much of a chance for any of the two underdogs.

 

[Czechboy]

Czechia (and Slovakia) owe Canada. I would not be surprised to see Canada lose in the quarters. Hopefully not.

I'd definitely be surprised.lol

 

[Fixed to Ruin]

I really don't like Latvia's chances

 

[SantosHalper]

Slovakia had such a good round robin and gets Finland as a reward... I like both nations and think this is the game of the day. I'll go with my heart and say Slovakia 4-3 in a shootout.

Don't you put that evil on me Ricky Bobby! I can handle every loss, except a shootout loss. Happy new year to all the great people in the great nation of Czechia.

 

[ORRFForever]

I'd definitely be surprised.lol

No you wouldn't.

 

[Czechboy]

Don't you put that evil on me Ricky Bobby! I can handle every loss, except a shootout loss. Happy new year to all the great people in the great nation of Czechia.

You as well! Good luck Tuesday!

 

[Swipes]

I think we take the game vs Canada to OT, then it can go either way. Tough one to predict!

 

[vlady]

another noon game for Slovakia

 

[hockey20000]

USA-LATVIA 8-0 USA
SWITZ -SWEDEN 5-2 SWEDEN
SVK -FINLAND 5-3 FINLAND
CZE -CANADA 5-3 CZE.. Canada is the underdog

 

[Antiillafire]

I believe Slovakia has a better winning percentage against both USA, and Sweden compared to Finland historically at the WJC. Finland is Slovak kryptonite no matter the level, no matter the skill of the team.

 

[Czechboy]

I believe Slovakia has a better winning percentage against both USA, and Sweden compared to Finland historically at the WJC. Finland is Slovak kryptonite no matter the level, no matter the skill of the team.

Might be true but how are you feeling going in?

 

[Czechboy]

It did occur to me.. none of the 'big 4' have to play each other.

Smart money would bet on them to all advance to the Semi's.

However, I prefer anarchy, and am hoping for at least 2 upsets.

 

[Antiillafire]

Might be true but how are you feeling going in?

Not great, only really the first line has been going every game. The others way too inconsistent.

 

[Czechboy]

 

[Czechboy]

Not great, only really the first line has been going every game. The others way too inconsistent.

I've got you guys at 55-45 chance to win... Gajan is a problem for anyone and your quarters last year were exceptional.

 

[BigRangy]

Hoping for Slovakia and Canada, expecting Finland and Czechia. Sweden and USA will be through in a breeze.

 

[Deep Blue Metallic]

So, iiuc, the seedings for the semi-finals, heading into the quarters, are USA, SWE, CAN, SVK, CZE, FIN, SUI, LAT.

Making the assumption that both Latvia and Switzerland lose ...

If the big-4 go through, the semis will be USA-FIN and a rematch of SWE-CAN, and we all know how those *usually* go.

If Slovakia beats (upsets?) Finland, it's two rematches, USA-SVK and SWE-CAN.

If Czechia upsets Canada, we'll have USA-FIN, SWE-CZE.

Both Slovakia and Czechia going through would mean USA-CZE and SWE-SVK.

Lots of fun in any of those scenarios. (Please let me know if I made any errors.)

As a USA fan, having to beat Latvia and one of FIN-SVK-CZE to get to the GMG is encouraging. Nothing is guaranteed, of course, not even beating Latvia.

On to the quarter-finals!

 

[Mctavishthegoalie23]

Czechia has got this one

Canada is absolute ass


Happy New Year btw