The Matchday 12 encounter in Group A of the 2025 Ice Hockey World Championship between Sweden and Canada will take place on May 20 at the Avicii Arena in Stockholm. Sweden vs. Canada: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Sweden
The Swedes secured their sixth consecutive victory in regulation time, shutting out France in their last match (4-0). The team outshot their opponents by more than double and converted one power-play opportunity. Isaac Lundestrom (1+1) and Lucas Raymond (1+1) each tallied two points. Sweden leads Group A with 18 points and has conceded only three goals in total during this World Championship, the best defensive record among all teams in the tournament.
- Sweden has scored at least two goals in regulation time in 5 of their last 7 head-to-head encounters at the World Championship.
- No more than six goals have been scored in total over three periods in Sweden's last seven games at the World Championship.
- The team has won in regulation time in their last seven matches at the World Championship.
Canada
Canada suffered their first defeat of the tournament, losing to Finland (1-2 in a shootout) in their last game. The team scored their only goal in the second period while shorthanded, with Ryan O'Reilly as the scorer. Notably, Canada nearly doubled their opponent in shot attempts but failed to reach four goals for the first time in this World Championship. In their group, Canada is the highest-scoring team (29 goals), currently sitting in second place, two points behind the leader.
- Canada has not scored more than three goals in regulation time in 9 of their last 11 head-to-head meetings at the World Championship.
- The team has won in regulation time in 5 of their last 6 previous matches at the World Championship.
- At least five goals have been scored in regulation time in 4 of Canada's last 5 matches at the World Championship.
Sweden vs. Canada: Match Prediction
Canada surprised in their last match by failing to score more than one goal despite high shot activity, even with the most skilled lineup in this World Championship. Sweden, in terms of execution, will not give Canada many opportunities in their upcoming match, as they have the strongest defense in this tournament. Expecting high scoring is not reasonable this time. Although Sweden is the second-highest scoring team in their group, they are likely to be restrained and will capitalize on as much as the opponent allows.
The motivation for both teams in the upcoming game is clear: Sweden will want to maintain their lead, while Canada will attempt to claim the top spot in the group at the last moment. Therefore, both teams are expected to play cautiously, and given that they have the strongest defenses in their group, this will come to the forefront. In 10 of the last 11 head-to-head meetings at the World Championship, no more than six goals were scored in regulation time. Similar scoring was observed in all of Sweden's games in the current tournament and in 3 of Canada's last 4 matches in this World Championship. I believe the teams will not play with the highest execution.
My prediction: Total under 6
Arvid Söderblom
Samuel Ersson
Yacob Markstrem
Adam Larsson
Erik Gustafsson
Gabriel Carlsson
Jonas Brodin
Marcus Pettersson
Rasmus Andersson
Rasmus Sandin
Alexander Wennberg
Anton Bengtsson
Elias Lindholm
Emil Heineman
Filip Forsberg
Isac Lundeström
Jesper Froden
Max Friberg
Mika Zibanejad
Mikael Backlund
Dylan Garand
Jordan Binnington
Adam Fantilli
Barrett Hayton
Bo Horvat
Nathan MacKinnon
Phillip Danault
Sidney Crosby
