Since women's hockey made its Olympic debut in 1998, Canada and the United States have dominated the competition, combining to win all six gold medals along with five silvers. The Americans captured the first gold in Nagano and the Canadians won the next four before being defeated for the prize by the U.S. in a shootout at the 2018 Pyeongchang Games. Team USA attempts to repeat as champion when it meets Canada in the gold-medal match of the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on Wednesday.
The opening face-off is set for 11:10 p.m. ET. Canada is a -210 (risk $210 to win $100) money-line favorite in the latest Canada vs. USA odds from Caesars Sportsbook, while the over-under for total goals is 5.5. The spread, or puck line, is Canada -1.5 goals (+135). Before locking in any USA vs. Canada picks or Beijing Olympics 2022 predictions, you need to see what SportsLine's Olympics expert, Mike Tierney, has to say.
A national sportswriter whose work appears in The New York Times and Los Angeles Times, Tierney has covered nine Olympic Games in person. For Rio in 2016, Tierney profited big-time. He told readers to bet over on Team USA's gold medal count (41.5) and over on Team USA's overall medal count (102.5). The result? 46 golds, 121 medals and two easy cashes.
For the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, Tierney hit two of his three predictions: Germany (+200) to win the most gold medals and the United States winning under 10.5 gold medals (+110). And at last year's Tokyo Games, he correctly predicted the United States would go over 111.5 total medals (-110).
Now, Tierney has analyzed Wednesday's Team USA vs. Canada matchup. He has identified several factors as to why this wager will cash. You can visit SportsLine now to see the Beijing Olympics pick. Here are the 2022 Olympic women's hockey odds for Canada vs. Team USA:
- Canada vs. USA money line: Canada -201, USA +180
- Canada vs. USA over-under: 5.5 goals
- Canada vs. USA puck line: Canada -1.5
Why Canada will win
The Canadians still have the bad taste from Pyeongchang in their mouths and have taken out their anger on their opponents in Beijing. They enter the gold-medal rematch having reached double digits in goals in four of their six games and have outscored the competition 54-8 overall. They were outshot 53-27 by the Americans in the preliminary round but still came away with a 4-2 victory.
Canada has eight players in the top 10 in scoring, including the first six. Sarah Nurse leads the way with 16 points, while Marie-Phiip Poulin and Natalie Spooner have recorded 14 apiece. Brianne Jenner has scored a tournament-high nine goals and Sarah Fillier is right on her heels with eight.
Why the USA will win
Like Canada, the Americans have allowed only eight goals over six games, with half coming in the loss to their bitter rival. Alex Cavallini has been among the best goaltenders in Beijing as she's posted a 0.67 goals-against average and recorded a shutout while winning all three of her starts. The 30-year-old from Wisconsin gave up just one goal each in the quarterfinal win over the Czech Republic and semifinal victory against Finland.
Hilary Knight is the only American in the top 10 in scoring with nine points, including five goals. The 32-year-old Californian notched a goal and an assist against the Finns in the semifinals, giving her 26 points during her Olympic career. Knight, who is tied with Jenny Potter and Angela Ruggiero for most games played in U.S. Olympic women's hockey history, is six points behind Potter for first place on the Americans' all-time list.
How to make USA vs. Canada women's hockey picks
Tierney is leaning under on the total, but he also has a confident puck-line pick. He's identified a crucial X-factor that makes one side a must-back. He's sharing that pick and all of his Olympics 2022 predictions only at SportsLine.
Who wins USA vs. Canada on Wednesday? And what X-factor makes one side a must-back? Visit SportsLine now to get Mike Tierney's predictions for Canada vs. USA and the Beijing Winter Olympics, all from the renowned sportswriter who's covered nine Olympics in person and cashed big in 2016, '18 and '21, and find out.