VSN Presents: S80 VHL Playoff Preview

[Alex 3,248]

@Ricer13

 

Welcome to VSN’s VHL playoff preview and predictions, in this article we’ll break down each series and discuss what players could be key to turning the tide of the series and potentially pulling off an upset. While you’re here be sure to check out some of the other recent VSN articles.

 

VHL's All-Decade Team: S1-S10 | S80 Trade Deadline Recap | The Seattle Bears Dynasty | Top 10 VHL Prospects| S80 Under 200 Power Rankings

 

Wildcard Series

 

 Calgary vs. Los Angeles 

 

Our first series of the playoffs could be an interesting one and will come down to Los Angeles’s veterans battling it out with Calgary’s youth. The season series between these two was very one-sided with Calgary coming out on top in 5 of the 6 matchups. For Calgary to come out on top this series their offense will need to get going and quickly having only scored 4 or more goals in one of their last 10 games going 3-7-0 in that stretch. Calgary’s offense is widely centered around 1 player in particular in Nathan Perry @tinafrombobsburgers who led the team in scoring last season with 46 goals and 102 points. Los Angeles on the other hand is going to need to lean heavily on retiring goaltender Doug Dimmadome @Esso2264 to find a way out of this series and onto the next round.

 

Prediction: Calgary in 4

VSN vote: CGY 6, LAS 3

 

 HC Davos vs. Prague 

 

In what could be a very close series we have Davos and Prague going head to head, Davos won the season series 3-2. Some key players for Davos in this one will be Taro Tsujimoto @GustavMattias and Reylynn Reinhart @Ricer13 who will need to drive their team’s offense to overwhelm the Prague defensive group and goaltender. For Prague their core will need to play very well, and specifically Grekkark Gyrfalcon @Sharkstrong will need to stand on their head and Battre Sandstorm @Acydburn will need to help shut down Davos’s offense. 

 

Prediction: Davos in 5

VSN vote: DAV 6, PRA 3

 

Conference Semi-Finals

 

 Vancouver vs. Calgary 

 

The season series between these two was closer than most would think with it coming to a tie at 3 games a piece with Calgary out-scoring Vancouver 25-22. This series by all means could be an offensive onslaught with every game being high scoring and could come down to both teams newer players with Tyler Reinhart @Zetterberg and Jerome Reinhart @MexicanCow123 for Vancouver who both had great seasons offensively and Nils Tallinder @Patrik Tallinder and Alex Johnston @Alex_J32 for Calgary both of who took a big step forward this season and if Johnston can get his shooting percentage up to league average (5.57% on 395 shots) it could tilt this series in Calgary’s favour. 

 

Prediction: Vancouver in 6

VSN vote: VAN 7, CGY 2

 

 Chicago vs. D.C. 

 

In what could be the most interesting series of the conference semi-finals we have Chicago and D.C. going head to head, both teams are taking their last run at a Continental Cup prior to what could be a rebuild as almost the entirety of both rosters will be retired following next season. Chicago will be leaning heavily on Jean Pierre Camus @solas to carry them through this series and keep their cup hopes alive. D.C. on the other hand is led by 3-time Scott Boulet Trophy winner Groovy Dood @bigAL who will be determined to add to their trophy case prior to retirement. 

 

Prediction: Chicago in 5

VSN vote: CHI 7, DCD 2

 

 Moscow vs. HC Davos 

 

The Moscow Menace have done very well for themselves this season and look to carry that success into the playoffs, during the season series the teams split the 6 games with Davos picking up one more point with an OTL in the series. As a whole the entire Moscow roster is very young and only a couple players have hit regression so far, they do however have plenty of Continental Cup experience with goaltender Rara Rasputin @Victor who was a part of the Seattle team that won it in S77. Davos on the other hand may look to Patrik Laine @Laine and Isabella Campbell @Banackock to step up in a big way and carry their team through to the next round.

 

Prediction: Moscow in 5

VSN vote: MOS 6, DAV 1

 

 Malmo vs. Warsaw 

 

The defending champs in Malmo do not have an easy road in front of them as they will be taking on the Warsaw Predators. On paper this series looks like it could be a blow out with almost every Malmo player having a higher TPE than every Warsaw player. During the season series Malmo was able to take 3 of 5 matchups. The main player standing in Malmo’s way is 100 point scorer Chris Reynolds @Crstats23 who will look to replicate what Warsaw did in S78. For Malmo this looks like it could be their series to lose and you can look for Gunnar Odinsson @BOOM to come out and look to make a statement by burying Warsaw in each and every game.

 

Prediction: Malmo in 4

VSN vote: MAL 9, WAR 0

 

Conference Finals

 

 Vancouver vs. Chicago 

 

The Vancouver and Chicago season series was a really interesting one with Vancouver coming out on top 3-2. This is a series that could very well come down to goaltending with both teams having great offensive groups. For Vancouver it will be Markus Emerson Jr @Xflexz between the pipes who had a 0.928 SV% this past season. Chicago on the other hand will have potential top goaltender for this season Jean Pierre Camus @solas in the crease who recorded a career high 0.935 SV% this past season. 

 

Prediction: Vancouver in 4

VSN vote: VAN 8, CHI 0

 

 Moscow vs. Malmo 

 

During the season series Moscow took a 3-2 series win however, Malmo took the last two games between them. In this series both teams have rosters that could be together for some time and this could prove to be an ongoing battle each and every season in the playoffs. This time around it could end up being a battle of the 2 top defensemen from the S78 draft in Tui Sova @v.2 for Malmo and Hard Markinson @STZ for Moscow, both of whom had a great regular season and will be looking to keep their success going. This series could be an absolute battle and will surely be interesting to watch unfold.

 

Prediction: Moscow in 7

VSN vote: Moscow 4, Malmo 3

 

Continental Cup Finals

 

 Vancouver vs. Moscow 

 

Both these teams have a very young core group of players who will continue to get better and could have their teams at the top of the league for some time to come. Vancouver in contrast to Moscow made some big trades near the deadline to bring in veteran players Dakota Lamb @dlamb and Jeffery Pines @rory , both of whom will be looking to add to their trophy case prior to retirement. Moscow in stark contrast did not buy at the deadline and is set to improve their roster at the draft with a mountain of picks. For Moscow they will need Duncan Idaho @OrbitingDeath and Paul Atreides @Mr_Hatter and their entire offense to step up in a big way and hopefully find a way to get pucks past Vancouver’s netminder. This series will be an interesting one if it happens and could go either way. 

 

Prediction: Vancouver in 6

VSN vote: VAN 4, MOS 1

 

Thank you to everyone for reading and best of luck to each and every team in the playoffs! If you have any predictions of your own feel free to post them in the comments.

[Ricer13 2,823]

Wild card series are best of 5 I thought? Am I wrong?

[Spaz 297]

5 minutes ago, Ricer13 said:

Wild card series are best of 5 I thought? Am I wrong?

You're right lol, why are you asking?, it looks like he got it right too

Edited October 28, 2021 by Spaz

[tinafrombobsburgers 367]

Great read as always

[Ricer13 2,823]

17 minutes ago, Spaz said:

You're right lol, why are you asking?, it looks like he got it right too

it says calgary in 4 and you only need 3 to win the series. Davos in 5 too

[JardyB10 4,868]

44 minutes ago, Alex_J32 said:

Conference Finals

 

 Vancouver vs. Chicago 

 

Prediction: Vancouver in 4

Not a chance you maniacs.

[JardyB10 4,868]

13 minutes ago, Ricer13 said:

it says calgary in 4 and you only need 3 to win the series. Davos in 5 too

That's how many games they predict. The fools think Prague will take us to the brink!

[Ricer13 2,823]

5 minutes ago, JardyB10 said:

That's how many games they predict. The fools think Prague will take us to the brink!

 oh i am dumb lmao but yeah what were they thinking. Davos the best purple!

[Ricer13 2,823]

51 minutes ago, Alex_J32 said:

CLEANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

[Frank 5,258]

1 hour ago, Ricer13 said:

Wild card series are best of 5 I thought? Am I wrong?

Inactive GM unsure of playoff format.

[Esso2264 774]

LA is winning the cup so like idk

[Ricer13 2,823]

39 minutes ago, Frank said:

Inactive GM unsure of playoff format.

Dammit, he got me. 

[KaleebtheMighty 1,539]

I think you mistyped “Chicago in 5”, I’ll just fix that for you.

 

D.C. in 5

[Spaz 297]

On 10/28/2021 at 7:33 PM, JardyB10 said:

That's how many games they predict. The fools think Prague will take us to the brink!

This aged well lol

[JardyB10 4,868]

34 minutes ago, Spaz said:

This aged well lol

Yeahhh that's what I get for trying to be cocky, haha.

[Spaz 297]

1 hour ago, JardyB10 said:

Yeahhh that's what I get for trying to be cocky, haha.

It's okay the same thing happens to me too

[JardyB10 4,868]

On 10/29/2021 at 5:44 PM, Spaz said:

This aged well lol

It’s aged even better now!

[Spaz 297]

3 hours ago, JardyB10 said:

It’s aged even better now!

I was thinking that when I saw Prague moved on, I didn't say anything because I though you were dealing with enough pain lol

[animal74 1,855]

On 10/28/2021 at 4:48 PM, Alex_J32 said:

Prediction: Vancouver in 6

VSN vote: VAN 4, MOS 1

Will this age well though???

[Beketov 9,101]

5 hours ago, animal74 said:

Will this age well though???

I mean the “in 6” part is straight up impossible now but we aren’t counting our cups until they are won.