Canada Favored In First Game Of 4 Nations Face-Off

• Canada is a 1.5 favorite against Sweden in the first game of the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament.
• Take the over on Sweden’s and Canada’s total shots on goal in this matchup.
• Canada is favored to win the 4 Nations Face-Off at +150.

MONTREAL – 4 Nations Face-Off officially kicks off tonight with Canada being a 1.5 favorite over Sweden and having -200 odds to win outright. Canada opened as the favorite to win the tournament at +150.

Canada’s projected first line includes Sam Reinhart, Connor McDavid, and Mitch Marner. The second line features Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mark Stone.

Three of the NHL regular season’s top five-point scorers are in the mix for these two starting lines for Canada (MacKinnon, McDavid, Marner). Additionally, Sam Reinhart is tied for the third most goals this season at 31.

Canada also has depth in the bottom two lines. Three of the six players in these lines are teammates for Tampa Bay. Brayden Point (tied for the third-most goals in NHL) is on the third line and gives Canada a lot of depth.

It is also interesting to note that Jon Cooper, the head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is the head coach for Canada in this tournament.

Looking at the defensive pairings for Sweden, it could prove difficult to stop the offensive power of the Canadian team, making Canada to win outright a great bet at NHL betting sites.

NHL season plus/minus rankings suggest that it could be an uphill climb for Sweden’s defenseman.

• Jonas Brodin: ranks 76th at +11
• Victor Hedman: ranks 133rd at +7

• Mattias Ekholm: ranks 33rd at +17
• Erik Karlsson: 807th at -14

• Gustav Forsling: ranks 3rd at +30
• Rasmus Dahlin: ranks 169th at +5

One spot where Sweden has the edge statistically in this game is at the goalie position. Filip Gustavsson is the starting goalie for Sweden and has the fifth most wins in the NHL this year for Minnesota and has the seventh-best save percentage at .915.

Jordan Binnington ranks 39th in the NHL this season in save percentage (.896) and has allowed the 36th most goals per game (2.89). Over the regular season for St. Louis, Binnington has gone 15-19.

One of the best legal sports betting props offered for this game is total shots on goal for each team.

Total Shots On Goal

• Over 57.5 -125
• Under 57.5 -115

Sweden Shots On Goal

• Over 27.5 -140
• Under 27.5 +100

Canada Shots On Goal

• Over 29.5 -115
• Under 29.5 -125

This prop is more exciting than goalie saves, as any made goals count towards the prop. Over the last 11 games, Binnington has faced an average of 26.3 shots but Gustavsson has faced 124 shots over just his last three games (41.3 shots against per game).

If Sweden is playing from behind, they should soar over their projected shots on goal line.

News tags: 4 Nations Face Off | Brayden Point | Canada | Connor McDavid | Mark Stone | Mitch Marner | Nathan MacKinnon | NHL | Sam Reinhart | Sidney Crosby | Sweden