Team USA’s Edge Over Switzerland: A Nail-Biting Battle or a Blowout in the Making?

So here we are again—the Olympics have officially kicked off, and if you blinked, you might’ve missed some serious action and a bit of chaos, including a pesky virus storming through the women’s hockey squads. Today’s showdown: USA versus Switzerland at 2:40 ET. Now, before we tiptoe around the obvious, let’s ask the real head-scratcher: can Switzerland put up a fight against the American powerhouse that’s been steamrolling through their prelims with a dazzling 10-goal tally already? Switzerland’s got Andrea Brandli, a goalie who’s apparently the next big thing in pro women’s hockey — good on them for kicking off the PWHL — but even with her in net, this clash feels more like a casual stroll in the park for the U.S. team. Are we gearing up for a nail-biter or just counting how many times Team USA lightning bolts the puck past her? Spoiler alert: the puckline’s a lofty -5.5. Buckle up—or don’t bother if you’re expecting a close one. LEARN MORE.

USA vs. Switzerland, 2:40 ET

If you missed it with everything else in the world going on, I probably wouldn’t blame you. However, the Olympic Games have started. The Opening Ceremony took place, there have been some obvious and easy winners who have claimed medals already, and there have been some sad injuries to both known and unknown competitors. We’ve even seen a virus outbreak that has caused issues for teams, including multiple Women’s Hockey teams. Two of those teams are on the ice today/tonight as USA takes on Switzerland.

I’m sure if you’re American you already assume that the United States is one of the best teams in the Olympics. Let’s hold aside the country pride for a moment and look at it objectively. On the Men’s side, there are a few competitors that could make a claim for the best team in the Olympics. On the Women’s side, there really are only two teams expected to be the best teams. One is the Canadian team, of course, and the other is the Americans. There have been just two games from the United States so far in the Olympic preliminary round, and they’ve dominated both of them. In game one, they beat Czechia (Czech Republic) 5-1. In game two, they pitched a shutout and beat Finland 5-0. Two games, ten goals, and now they face a Switzerland team that is nothing all that special.

Speaking of that Switzerland team, what are we to expect with them? They do have some decent players, and scouting reports that they have a reliable goalie in Andrea Brandli. Brandli is recognized as the country’s top goalkeeper, and does play professionally in Switzerland. How good is she? Well, the reports also indicate that she is likely to be the top goalie when the Professional Women’s Hockey League drafts next. I probably need to admit that I didn’t know that the PWHL was a thing, but kudos to them for getting a league running. The rest of what I’ve read is they have some good pieces, but this is like if any average NHL team took on the All-Star Team for the remainder of the league.

Even with a great goalkeep can Switzerland keep up? Probably not. The biggest question here isn’t whether or not the USA team will win the game it is by how much. The puckline on the game is -5.5 which is absurdly high. Switzerland just played the United States biggest competitor, Canada, in their last game and they lost 4-0. Maybe they were tired, they did play the previous day and it went to a shootout. That game was against Czechia and they won 4-3. For this one, I think the US probably puts up five goals again. It is entirely possible they could blow out Switzerland. After all, this is their third game in four days, compared to three in five for the Americans. If I have USA at five and the Swiss at nothing, then the under is the easiest look. I’ll take under 6.5 total goals for the game. Also, the US has scored the most goals in the second period both games, if that trend continues you can bet on that as the highest scoring period at +165.

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