USA vs. Finland Prediction on February 13, 2025

Match info

International best-on-best men’s hockey has finally returned after a break. To determine which country will have the bragging rights and early momentum ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics, four of the top hockey-playing nations in the world—the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Finland—take to the ice in North America. The Bookmaker-Expert staff geared up to offer its predictions for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off: USA vs. Finland—the second matchup on the schedule (Thursday, February 13, at 6 p.m. local time at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) for the year’s first tournament. Hockey bookmakers have made the former their clear favorite.

Meeting statistics

The current form of the USA

Although the lineups of all four teams are playoff-caliber by NHL standards, the U.S. appears to has more depth and elite players than Finland. No wonder they are such big favorites against the Scandinavian side: 1.50 for the win on ReloadBet. Finland is 4.50.

We could go through each squad player by player and argue endlessly about the best combinations; for Team USA, that might be Jack Hughes and Auston Matthews. Does the USA’s depth behind Adam Fox works hard enough for the team, even though Canada perhaps has the top defenseman in the competition in Cale Makar?

Unquestionably, Team USA has an advantage in one aspect of roster construction. Perhaps the NHL’s top goalie is Connor Hellebuyck. In the meantime, John Hynes wouldn’t have even considered any other goalie from any of the four teams, including Finland, if he had the opportunity. Finland has subtle pros, but they come at a steep net cost. Having a reputation for reliability will give the United States the confidence to withstand Finland’s firepower under the most trying circumstances.

The current form of Finland

With Rasmus Ristolainen and Miro Heiskanen out, Finland has got some devastating injury news, particularly on the back end. However, every team has had to cope with devastating injury news for key roster positions. League players like Mikko Rantanen and Sebastian Aho, who currently play together and have developed a lovely chemistry, are incredibly talented and make up this attacking group. Not to mention that they have Aleksander Barkov, the current Selke Award winner, who’s skilled at blocking the best center on the other team.

Despite the fact that the USA’s goalkeeping trio is superior, the Finnish goalie situation is arguably the strongest of any other roster. Antti Pennanen is collaborating with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Kevin Lankinen, and Juuse Saros. Although “Leijonat” (the Lions) have the longest odds to win the tournament, you shouldn’t discount them if their goaltender depth and forward chemistry live up to expectations. This team is excited to build on its extensive history of international play and do some fresh magic.

Head-to-head

The hockey teams Finland and USA played 14 games up to today, each winning seven.

Match analytics

We’re backing the USA here. And given that moneyline win odds on them are short, we suggest betting on the spread.

Tip: Handicap (-1.5) USA, with odds of 1.79 on Black Magic Casino.