A mismatch on paper will occur at O2 Arena in Prague on May 16th. On one side of the rink, we have Canada which boasts a wealth of top talent including John Tavares, rookie phenom Connor Bedard, and goalie Jordan Binnington. Canada has handily prevailed in its first two games of the preliminary round with a 4-2 win over Great Britain and a lop-sided 5-1 win over Norway.

On the other side, Norway is off to a rough start with three losses in three games in which they have scored 6 goals while surrendering 16. Norway’s roster features just one NHL player in Mats Zuccarello who has notched three assists in his two appearances. They will need a solid performance out of him if they have a shot at keeping this one close.

So, how big of a mismatch does this game appear to be? Well, Canada is among the three main odds-on favorites to win the tournament. At most of the best sports betting sites in Canada, Sweden is hovering around 3.25 to win it all while Canada and the United States are priced at around 3.75 and 4.00 respectively. On the flip side, Norway’s odds sit at around 351.00.

In terms of this particular game, Canada’s odds are in the neighborhood of 1.05 on the moneyline while Norway is listed at 29.00. If you are wondering about the spread, then you can take Canada on a -3.5 puckline at 1.90 or Norway on the +3.5 puckline at 1.90. The game total is set at 5.5.

The big question is: What is the best bet for this tilt? Well, MightyTips has some ideas.

Pre-match odds Canada vs Norway

Canada Norway pre-match odds

	Canada	X	Norway
	1.05	15.00	29.00

Early on in this 2024 IIHF World Championship, Canada and Norway have both been doing what they have been expected to do. That is to say that Canada’s been winning and Norway’s been struggling. Not that Canada really needs it for this one, but they have added veteran John Tavares after his Toronto Maple Leafs were eliminated from the NHL playoffs last week. Tavares will wear the “C” and add a lot of punch to an already potent lineup.

Before these two teams meet, Canada is scheduled to play Austria. That one is shaping up to be an even bigger mismatch than this game. Meanwhile, Norway might have its best shot at picking up a W in the preliminaries as they face Denmark.

Canada Injuries

As expected, Maclin Cellebrini and Adam Fantilli won’t be suiting up for Canada and are both at home. John Tavares made his first appearance in the tournament and recorded an assist. Canada is healthy from top to bottom. Keep checking MightyTips for the latest hockey news and predictions.

Norway Injuries

Like Canada, Norway is fully healthy. This includes Mats Zuccarello and Patrick Thoresen who lead the squad with three points each. No Norwegian player has scored more than one goal.

With a price of 1.05, there is next to no value in betting on Canada on the moneyline. And even though many of the best betting sites in Norway offer a huge potential payout of 29.00, it’s not a very likely outcome at all. No matter which way you look at it, Norway is simply in too deep.

In terms of sides, the best option is the puckline which currently sits at 3.5. One thing that punters must consider is that Norway’s goaltending has not been good at all. Arntzen has a .890 save percent in two games while Henrik Haukland had a .896 save percent in his only start. It’s not that the Canadian goalies are perfect, but Canada has been very stingy with allowing quality scoring opportunities while putting a lot of rubber on opposing goalies. 1xBet | 1.90 - Canada -3.5 WIN

• Canada is 6-1 SU versus Norway in their last 7 meetings
• Norway is 0-3 SU in the IIHF 2024 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament
  1xBet | 1.35  - Canada Win and Total 1 over 3.5 - YES

• Canada is averaging 1.5 goals against in the 2024 tournament
• Norway is averaging 2 goals per game in the 2024 tournament
  1xBet | 1.41  - Norway Score and not to Win