VSN: S81 Under 200 Power Rankings/Playoff Preview

[AJW 2,192]

 

Hello and welcome back to another addition of VSN through the VHLM. Today we will look at the final power rankings of S81 as well as a preview of this season's playoffs and more specifically at the matchups that will take place. In order to not make this article 10 hours to read, there will be a short recap on power rankings represented by a graphic, then a more detailed segment of the playoffs preview.

 

 

Power Rankings

 

The Ottawa Lynx have been the top team in the VHLM in S81 and lead the charge through the final power rankings of the season heading into playoffs.

 

 

Shoutout to @KaleebtheMighty for the graphic used here!

 

 

S81 Playoff Preview

 

 

Round 1

 

 

 (1) Ottawa Lynx vs.  (8) Mexico City Kings

 

The league favorite Ottawa Lynx will take on the Mexico City Kings in the first matchup of the first round. These teams met six times throughout S81 with Ottawa winning five out 6 games. Ottawa has torn up the league all season and has sat top of the standings since the second week of sims. Ottawa's power starts from their brick wall capped TPE goaltender Ed Nu @npuBeT who tied for first in wins for goalies and has seen majority of starts since the trading of Wumbo earlier on this season. Ottawa's success then branches out to a wide variety of players such as Gunnarwolfe Vomacka @Wolfe, Perry Lapperriere @KaleebtheMighty, and Matty Live @Mattylive3k, who all reached the top 10 this season in points. Matty Live looks to continue his playoff domination after last season's playoff MVP performance. For some of you who may have forgotten, Live scored the Founder's Cup game winning goal in Ottawa's game 7 victory over Yukon. Live holds the single season playoff record of points by defenceman with 31 and people are excited to see if he can match his performance from last season's playoffs. With the depth of Ottawa's roster and the amount of capped players they have, I'm curious to see if other players will step up in these playoffs as Matty Live did in the S80 playoffs for Ottawa. Mexico City Kings are determined underdogs of these playoffs. Mexico missed the S80 playoffs and look to bounce back against a strong Lynx team. Mexico definitely has some work put ahead for themselves and will need to rely on their capped TPE goaltender Boris Tsezar @comrade cat who has been a key factor in Mexico's playoff hopes this season. Tsezar played for the Halifax 21st in S80 and helped Halifax reach the second round, so Mexico's hopes for this series are for sure on his back. To bring life to Mexico's scoring, Ronan Lavelle @Arce will be the main star. Lavelle is the only player on the Kings to achieve a point per game this season and the rookie looks to continue his tear through the playoffs.

 

Ottawa wins this series 4-0.

 

 

 (2) Las Vegas Aces vs.  (7) Saskatoon Wild

 

The Las Vegas Aces meet up with the Saskatoon Wild in the second matchup of the first round. These teams met ten times throughout S81 with Las Vegas winning nine out of ten games. Las Vegas has been a top 3 team and just recently found themselves passing the Houston Bulls in standings for the second seed late this season. The main source of Las Vegas' success this season has been through Alex TheGreat @Alex Thegreat who has shot off like a rocket, leading the league in points and assists. TheGreat has been the Connor McDavid of the VHLM this season and looks to continue his domination through playoffs after a disappointing first round exit with the Philadelphia Reapers in S80. Las Vegas' power doesn't just come from TheGreat though. Girts Galvins @Girts, Julien Bernier @Julien_Bernier, and Adeline Delle Donne @Dtayl have inflated TheGreat's stats while playing on the same line as him this season, all three players achieved over a point per game. On the back end, S79 veteran Patric Twist @Patty has also achieved a point per game this season and secured the blue line for his goaltender Thomas Price @Thunderidge. Price is arguably in the conversation for best goalie in the league right now and will be looking for revenge after his Founder's Cup loss in S80 while playing for the Yukon Rush. The Saskatoon Wild have the short end of the stick this series. Saskatoon has been hovering around the 7th seed all season and look to bounce back these playoffs after missing the S80 playoffs. After the trading of Cole Pearce, Saskatoon doesn't have any star players when it comes to statistics. They will need to rely on top defenseman Jeff Buffy @Strider who put up just under a point per game this season, and Bob Vladovechsenkchuskin @Grape who is the only capped player on the team. This will be a tough series for the Wild and their young guns will really have to show their talents in hopes for a second round appearance.

 

Las Vegas wins this series 4-0.

 

 

 (3) Houston Bulls vs.  (6) Philadelphia Reapers

 

The Houston Bulls face off against the Philadelphia Reapers in the third matchup of the second round. These teams met six times throughout S81 with Houston winning four out of six games. Houston has been a strong power house all season, challenging Ottawa for first seed many times. Houston's strength revolves around their menace of a goaltender, Juha Jarvinen. Jarvinen has put up insane numbers all season and leads the league in most stats for goalies. This includes his 0.91 SV% and 2.46 GAA, both top of the league. Houston also produces high numbers off their blue line. Mikhail Kovalchuk @Banackock and Cameron Elsby @Spence King are a dynamic duo on the point, both achieving over a point per game this season. Connor Johnson @MrMonkey also holds his own for Houston's defense with 64 points in 44 games after being traded to Houston midway through the season. All three defenseman sit in the top 10 in the league for points by defenseman. On the front end, the star of the show is Mikhail Lospenov @Gretzky didnt lift da puck. Lospenov has played a huge role for Houston this season with over a point per game after being only one of four players in Mississauga in S80. Philadelphia should not be counted out of this series though. Sebastien dokis @Sebastien and Philadelphia's AGM's player Mason Jones @Masu Chan have brought life to the Reapers score sheet this season, both with over a point per game. Although Philadelphia may not have the scoring defensemen that Houston has, they do even out when it comes to capped players. Seymour Butts @Squidward2, Nagy AL @bigAL, and Rusty Cannon @Advantage are all key factors on the blue line. Since being traded to Philadelphia, AL and Cannon have boosted the Reapers back end greatly. Another huge trade for the Reapers this season is their new starting goaltender Cole Pearce @N0HBDY. With four 100 TPE+ goaltenders now for the Reapers, there's definitely no panicking happening if one has a bad game. Something to notice with this series' outcome - Juha Jarvinen, Collusion's player, is retired for being a multi account. If Jarvinen is still able to be part of the Bulls roster, I see Houston winning this series. If not, Philadelphia could see themselves advancing to the next round for sure.

 

Houston wins this series 4-3.

 

 

 (4) Mississauga Hounds vs.  (5) San Diego Marlins

 

On to the last matchup of the first round, the Mississauga Hounds take on the San Diego Marlins. These teams met six times throughout S81 with Mississauga winning five out of six games. The Mississauga Hounds are the last of the top 4 teams in the league and rightfully deserve to be there. After an early 11 game straight series with the Miami Marauders this season, people around the league (including myself) had doubts that the Hounds could continue their success when facing the rest of the teams in the VHLM. Those doubts were wrong, Mississauga has continued where they left off with Miami and dominated through the rest of S81. Vasile Lamb @dlamb made everyone understand why he was drafted 2nd overall in the S81 Dispersal Draft, leading the league in goals and finishing second in points. His partner in crime and line mate Kakapo Bushtit @Esso2264  carried his own weight this season finishing 3 points shy of 100. On the back end, the main source of Lamb's goals was James Teekirque @Mongoose87 who accomplished 85 assists this season and lead all defensemen in points, also being the only defenseman to reach 100 points this season. Mississauga wins the totally made up top 3 players award, having all three players sit in the top 5 for league points. These scoring stars don't take any shine away from capped TPE goaltender Miervaldis Arpa @Zack though. Arpa had an impressive season and finished tied for first in wins for goalies. The San Diego Marlins may not be the favorites in this series, but they do have a lot of talent to help them take down the Hounds. Although the Marlins don't have any top scorers like Mississauga, they do have a wider range of scorers with 5 skaters reaching a point per game. the great jr @Jake Sumner, Christopher Young @Laflamme, and Johnny Xavier @Johnny_HX all achieved this goal and led the Marlins offense going into these playoffs. An honorable mention would be The Board Game Clue On Skates @MubbleFubbles who put up 69 points this season. The point per game players don't stop there, Nikita Eklund @Ekky, and Maxwell Mathias @Underclass_Hero lead the Marlins in scoring this season as the top defensemen on the team. San Diego has powerful top 5 players who will all be key factors in determining the outcome of this series. Capped TPE goaltender Bubbles Utonium @fishy will also play a role in this series. Utonium had an impressive stat line this season and will be the last piece to the puzzle for the Marlins success. With both teams having capped goalies, scoring talents, and depth, this matchup in my eyes will be closer than the 5-1 season record between these teams. If Mississauga's top dogs come out to play, the Marlins will be struggling; if the Marlins can hold them back, they will find success in this series.

 

Mississauga wins this series 4-2.

 

 

Round 2

 

 

 (1) Ottawa Lynx vs.  (4) Mississauga Hounds

 

The first matchup of the second round will see the Ottawa Lynx face off against the Mississauga Hounds. These teams met nine times throughout S81 with Ottawa winning five out of nine games. I feel as if the close season matchup will repeat itself this series. Ottawa is an absolute power house with 11 of their players being TPE capped and their worst player having 111 TPE, their backup goalie. Mississauga is also a very strong team when it comes to their star players. Vasile Lamb up front and James Teekirque on the back end could be a huge problem that Ottawa will have to face. Although we have seen this story before, the S80 playoffs had the number one seed Yukon Rush up against the fifth seed Halifax 21st in the second round. Yukon had a team similar to Ottawa with insane depth and a lot of TPE capped players, Halifax had a team similar to Mississauga with a couple top players who all lead the league in scoring through the regular season. The outcome was a 4-0 series sweep for the Yukon Rush. At the end of the day, it is impossible to count out Ottawa from this series, but Mississauga has been able to figure them out this season and maybe they can do the same in these playoffs.

 

Ottawa wins this series 4-2.

 

 

 (2) Las Vegas Aces vs.  (3) Houston Bulls

 

The second matchup of the second round involves the Las Vegas Aces taking on the Houston Bulls. These teams met ten times throughout S81 with Houston winning seven out of ten games. Something to mention is that in seven of these Houston wins, three of them went to a shootout. So taking the shootout games away, (since obviously there are no shootouts in playoffs) the Bulls won four out of seven games against the Aces. Besides that, the Houston Bulls have for sure shown their dominance over Las Vegas this season. The Bulls had been ranked above the Aces all season until late when Las Vegas passed them in the standings for second seed. This series will be a dog fight as both teams own the best two goalies in the league - Juha Jarvinen for Houston and Thomas Price for Las Vegas. As well, while Houston has more depth, Las Vegas has more scoring stars. If Houston can stop Alex TheGreat's point domination and figure Price out, then the Bulls should be skating their way to the Founder's Cup final. But like the Houston/Philadelphia series, if Jarvinen doesn't play, Las Vegas might see themselves in the finals.

 

Houston wins this series 4-3.

 

 

Founder's Cup Finals

 

 

 (1) Ottawa Lynx vs.  (3) Houston Bulls

 

The Founder's Cup series should see the 1st ranked Ottawa Lynx meet up with the 3rd ranked Houston Bulls. As for power rankings, these are the top two teams in the league so it makes sense that they would see each other in the finals. These teams met six times throughout S81 with the series even at three wins for each team. Predicting this series is hard as the regular season series between these teams was tied, and both teams have amazing rosters. But stated many times before in this article, Ottawa is too good. Everything about their roster makes you think that they are hands down the best team and will win the cup, it's been known since the very first game this season. In Houston's case, they have the talented players, they have players that can score, and their one up on Ottawa is their goaltender being statistically the best goalie in the league. I doubted Ottawa last playoffs in S80 when they ended up winning the Founder's Cup, but this time around it's too hard to look past what they've built this season and the assets they bring to the table.

 

Ottawa wins this series 4-2.

 

 

 

Finally, I asked the GMs of the VHLM a couple of questions for their thoughts heading into the S81 playoffs.

 

Which team has the best chance at winning the Founder's Cup?

 

Ottawa (6), Las Vegas (2)

 

Which team(s) would be considered an underdog?

 

Philadelphia (4), San Diego (4), Mexico City (1)

 

Which team(s) will pull off a sweep?

 

Ottawa (6), Las Vegas (6), Houston (3), Philadelphia (1)

 

Which team(s) do you not want to have to face in the playoffs?

 

Ottawa (4), Mississauga (2), Las Vegas (1), Philadelphia (1), San Diego (1), None (2)

 

Will Ottawa go back-to-back this season?

 

Yes (4), No (3), Maybe (1)

 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2022 by ajwllmsn

[Shindigs 1,771]

9 minutes ago, ajwllmsn said:

An honorable mention would be The Board Game Clue On Skates @MubbleFubbles who put up 69 points this season.

So that was his plan all along? Okay, I can respect that!

[Daniel Janser 2,213]

35 minutes ago, Shindigs said:

So that was his plan all along? Okay, I can respect that!

His and mine both... I was on a 85 point season trajectory but had to deliberately slow down production to achieve the perfect score

 

[Shindigs 1,771]

Just now, Daniel Janser said:

His and mine both... I was on a 85 point season trajectory but had to deliberately slow down production to achieve the perfect score

 

Yeah, you really do need two people to make that score work, I guess? So good teamwork on getting there the both of you!

[N0HBDY 1,128]

Expose the people who said they didn’t want to play Mississauga, those cowards