Frustration. Horrible Writing.

[youloser1337 1,122]

What does it feel like to be on a "rebuilding" team while trying to be a contender? If you ask Justin Lose, it's exhausting.

 

"It's heartbreaking to be working hard every off-season to improve myself and keep myself in shape and nothing comes out of it. Riga has only been in the playoffs twice in my time here. It's aggravating how we are considered a top team to only fall down the ranking and be a basement dweller. You would think being a bottom team you would at least score more? Nope. You get demoted to the second line and not click with the teammates and be buried. Something has to change and it has to happen fast."

 

Let's compare 2 games from the Riga squad. One from the first game of the season and one of the more recent games. Keep in mind that Riga didn't have a goalie in game 1 and they have a goalie in their more recent games.

 

A false sense of hope is what game 1 of the season brought to the Riga squad:
Riga Reign - 9
Prague Phantoms - 3

 

Justin Lose gets 4 points and has a +2 in the game. Compare that to one of their most recent games:
Riga Reign - 1
Malmo Nighthawks - 3

 

Lose has 1 assist and was on the ice for all 3 goals for a -3 rating. Riga even outshot Malmo 30 to 23 and couldn't score.

Currently, Prague is actually ahead of Riga in points in the standings with 71 points versus Riga's 68. Prague also holds the last playoff spot. Malmo is sitting comfortably in a clinched playoff spot.

 

To start the season, Riga started with no goalie in the net. They had to use goalies given by the league which was taken advantage of by the other teams. A rough start with Riga is nothing new though. Surely they would turn it around when they actually got a goalie, right? They got a goalie and then they haven't been consistent in goal scoring and getting wins.

 

The road to playoffs for Riga is not an easy one. They are currently in 6th place in the EU conference and 3 points behind Prague. Riga is losing ground with their loss to Malmo with their max points only at 78 compared to Prague's 81 max points. From the EU, only Moscow and Malmo have clinched their spots, and with Helsinki being eliminated from the playoff race.

 

Over in the NA conference is a different story. Vancouver, Chicago, DC, and Calgary all have clinched their spots in playoffs with Seattle and Toronto being eliminated from the race. That only leaves 2 teams to battle for the last playoff spot; Los Angeles Stars and New York Americans. 

 

Back on the topic of Justin Lose this season and the biggest question is, will Justin Lose walk away from the team that drafted him and go to Free Agency in the off-season?

 

"I don't want to talk about it right now. I want to focus on possibly getting to the playoffs with this squad. Talk to me if we don't make the playoffs next week."

 

Big words from Lose about the current situation. It seems his displeasure of losing has caused him to possibly think about a new home.

[jRuutu 2,483]

9/10

 

Writing is solid. Structure or formatting - not so   I liked the article still. Interesting to read about the goalie situation as I did not follow the team or any other team that closely during the off-season. The stats bring an extra element to the article. The quotes fit well. Perhaps the formatting and adding a picture or two could be viewed as suggestions of improvement for future articles.

Edited October 31, 2021 by jRuutu