USA vs Denmark: Men’s Olympic Hockey Odds & Prediction

The 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Olympics are already underway, but the action in the highly anticipated men’s ice hockey tournament begins on Feb. 12. 

Following their first preliminary-round game against Latvia, Team USA will take on Team Denmark on Saturday, Feb. 14. 

As if the men’s ice hockey tournament wouldn’t have already been a hyped event at the Winter Olympics, this is the first time NHL players have participated since the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics. 

Team USA will be trying to get its first gold medal win in men’s ice hockey since the ‘Miracle on Ice’ win at the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. 

Here are the odds for their matchup against Denmark as of Feb. 11. 

USA vs Denmark Odds

Currently, Team USA is set as a 3.5-point favorite to win its preliminary game against Denmark. The Team USA moneyline is also set quite high, with them being favored at -3000. 

The over/under for the game is set at 6.5. 

USA vs Denmark Prediction

This Danish team should be a little scarier for Team USA than you may be expecting. 

Team Denmark is coming off a major upset victory in the last major international hockey tournament, when they defeated Team Canada in the 2025 IIHF World Championships. It was the first time since 2014 that the Canadians did not make the top four, and the Danes’ best finish at an international tournament. 

Most of the roster from that tournament is returning for these Olympics. 

Team Denmark features five NHL players, headlined by forward Nikolaj Ehlers and his Carolina teammate, goaltender Frederik Andersen, both of whom are having solid seasons with the Hurricanes. In addition, they also have Ottawa forward Lars Eller, Tampa forward Oliver Bjorkstrand, and Ottawa goaltender Mads Sogaard. 

After signing with Carolina this offseason, the 29-year-old left-wing Ehlers has 14 goals and 29 assists in 57 games played. Andersen, who’s assumed more of a backup role this season behind Brandon Bussi, has a 2.50 GAA and a .899 save percentage in 22 starts. 

Andersen has strong bona fides as a Danish hockey legend. He became the first goaltender from Denmark to start a game in the NHL in 2013 when he made his debut with the Ducks. 

Despite the NHL experience, Andersen will be in for a tough sixty minutes on Saturday. He has probably never had as little support from his defense as he will in this game. The Danes don’t have a defenseman on their roster with any NHL experience. 

If you need some recent proof of that, look back to those 2025 IIHF World Championships where Team USA defeated Denmark 5-0 in the opening game of the tournament. 

But still, given their recent upset history and the solid amount of NHL talent on its roster, I don’t expect the game to go over the 6.5-point line, and I could see Team Denmark pulling off another shocker and covering. 

The 2026 Milan Cortina Games will be the second time that the Danes have sent a men’s ice hockey team to the Winter Games. Their first came four years ago at the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, where they finished seventh. The Americans finished fifth.