4 Nations Face-Off: Best Bets and Player Props for Finland vs. Sweden

The NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off continues with a Saturday doubleheader. Finland and Sweden are both coming off tournament-opening losses, meaning another defeat all but eliminates them from Championship Game contention. The Swedes are installed as hefty -210 favorites, but the Finns have upset potential in Montreal.

Using FanDuel Sportsbook's 4 Nations Face-Off Odds, let's dive into the best bets for tonight.

Note: Lines are subject to change throughout the day after this article is published. All NHL betting odds and totals are from the NHL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook. All advanced statistics are used from MoneyPuck.com and NaturalStatTrick.com. Lineup notes come from Daily Faceoff.

Today’s Betting Picks for Finland vs. Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off

Finland Moneyline (+172)

Undoubtedly, Finland was outplayed by the USA on Thursday. However, the 6-1 score doesn’t reflect how close this contest was through most of the game. The States didn’t pull away until the third period with Finland relying on their defensive zone play to keep their opponents in check. They were able to stymie the US for 40 minutes and should put together a more complete effort on Saturday afternoon.

While Sweden was able to keep pace with the Canadians, we’re less confident in their ability to break through Finland’s defensive systems. Canada was happy to play with pace and force the offensive issue, a characteristic that the Finns don’t share. As a result, this game should be more of a defensive battle, playing into Finland’s preferred style of game.

Not to put too fine of a point on it, but this matchup could come down to goaltending. Neither Filip Gustavsson nor Juuse Saros looked exceptional; however, we trust Saros to stand tall in the blue paint. The Nashville Predators netminder was solid through two periods, but fewer shots from the Swedes should help him put forth a more complete effort.

In such a tightly contested battle, we see value in backing the underdogs on Saturday afternoon.

Esa Lindell to Record 1+ Points (+300)

The Finns rolled most of their forward lines relatively evenly, but one defensive pairing stood tall above the rest. Esa Lindell and Niko Mikkola led Finland in ice time, but it was the former who stood out as the most frequently used skater.

Lindell played over 24 minutes in Thursday’s loss to the Americans. As is typically the case, the rearguard was deployed under any circumstance, fulfilling a special teams role and splitting time in the attacking and defensive zones. While Lindell was relatively quiet offensively, his analytics profile supports that he’s due for a massive swing.

Lindell presents elite offensive upside as a D-man who starts just 23.7% of his shifts in the attacking zone. He averages 8.7 scoring and 3.7 high-danger chances per game. More importantly, he’s translated that to decent output, particularly recently. Across his last eight games with the Dallas Stars, Lindell has recorded one goal and four assists.

Lindell will continue to see abundant ice time, but we expect him to be a more meaningful contributor. On that basis, there’s value in backing him to record one or more points at +300.

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