The Czechoslovak team was predicted to face Canada in the final by most experts as they brought the same team that won the 1976 World Championship a few months prior. Their goaltender, Jiří Holeček, was considered the best in the world outside the NHL. Czechoslovak coach Karel Gut anticipated his team would emerge to show the world that there was "more to international hockey than Canada and the Soviet Union". Sweden was ranked third entering the tournament and had a large mixture of amateurs and professionals who were playing in the NHL and WHA. The United States and Finland rounded out the tournament and were not expected to be competitive.