Czechia and Switzerland meet in the preliminary round for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Puck drop is set for 6:10 a.m. EST at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan, Italy. The game will be broadcast live on CNBC and streamed on Peacock.
Czehchia is favored by 1.5 on the puck line, with the over/under set at 5.5 (+140o/ -165u). Czechia is a -140 favorite to win outright, while Switzerland is +120 to pull off the upset.
Let's get into my Czechia vs Switzerland predictions and Olympics picks.
Czechia vs. Switzerland Odds, Pick
- Czechia vs. Switzerland Puck Line: Czechia -1.5 (-185), Switzerland +1.5 (+225)
- Czechia vs. Switzerland Over/Under: 5.5 (+140o / -165u)
- Czechia vs. Switzerland Moneyline: Czechia -140, Switzerland +120
Czechia vs. Switzerland Preview
Czechia
The Czechs are playing with fire.
After getting beaten down by Canada by the score of 5-0, they went into a down-to-the-wire matchup with France, until they pulled away in the third period with a 6-3 win.
I always thought that Czechia had a real opportunity to make some noise. When you have a lineup featuring David Pastrnak, Martin Necas and Tomas Hertl, it’s hard not to be bullish.
But man, it was like pulling teeth getting consistent offense out of it.
Similar to Czechia’s last matchup, I’m going to wonder about how its defense fares. This is an older defense mixed in with several inexperienced youngsters and a top-6 defenseman in Filip Hronek.
This time, the Czechs have to face off against several exceptionally solid NHLers. Still, luckily for them, Switzerland is going to come in a bit shorthanded after suffering injuries during game 2 against Canada.
I’ll be curious as to what Czechia does in terms of goaltending. Dan Vladar started against France and struggled after facing 12 shots, so does coach Radim Rulik run with Karel Vejmelka to see what he has in his third netminder?
Lukas Dostal wasn’t great against Canada either, so it can’t hurt. Plus, Vejmelka was playing tremendous hockey for the Utah Mammoth before the NHL season paused.
Switzerland
At one point, I thought the Swiss were in really good shape to make some noise in these Olympics.
And boy, did they make noise. Just not the noise you were expecting.
Star forward Kevin Fiala suffered a devastating injury against Canada, which eventually required immediate surgery. So don’t expect to see him for the remainder of the tournament – or probably the NHL season.
Beyond that, Switzerland may end up missing defenseman Andrea Glauser and forward Denis Malgin.
Make no mistake, this is still a well-rounded, quality team, but the loss of Fiala is definitely going to hurt.
Switzerland is going to need a lot more out of Nico Hischier and Nino Niederreiter, who have been held pointless thus far in these Olympics. Niederreiter plays more of a game down low by the goal and creates havoc in front of the netminder, so shots from the point from Roman Josi and J.J. Moser will be crucial.
A major pain point for the Swiss, though, is goaltending, where they’re relying on a trio of Akira Schmid, Leonardo Genoni, and Reto Berra.
Berra is 39 and Genoni is 38, while Schmid is an underwhelming netminder for the Vegas Golden Knights.
Genoni posted a nice shutout in the first game against France, but then Schmid got lit up against Canada after they lost 5-1. So this morning, against the Czechs could go one of two ways if Schmid gets in between the pipes again.
Czechia vs. Switzerland Prediction
As much as I love to ride with underdogs, I just can’t do it with Switzerland's multiple injuries, including the omission of Fiala.
But I actually think there’s a lot of value on the over here. Switzerland’s game against Canada went above the 5.5 total on Friday, and it probably could’ve hit the over against France… if it had a different opponent.
I don’t like the goaltending matchup. Vejmelka may be an upgrade over Vladar and Dostal, but to me, he’s still very much a wild card. Factor in the defense as well, I just can’t get too excited about their propensity to protect the puck.
The same goes for the Swiss. They just may roll with Berra here, after Schmid got lit up, and Berra was run out of the NHL years ago. And even if it’s not him, I don’t like the goaltending room enough to be bullish.
There are a decent number of goal scorers in this game, on smaller ice. I like it a lot.
Pick: Over 5.5 (+140)
