Warsaw vs Moscow next

[MetalToday 266]

     The First round for Warsaw was great, there was no need for them to go over 5 games, meaning they took the series with a 4-1 win. Through those 5 games, we saw Brendan Marner lead the team with 5 goals and followed up with Zach Kisslingers 4 goals. The team had good production with their depth, with everyone having at least 2 points, and 6 players with 5 or more points. This is good production between the 5 games the team has played. If you didn’t get that, this means there is 6 players on Warsaw at a point a game or better. Warsaws contender in the first round was H.C. Dynamo and comparing the 2 teams scoring says it all. Dynamo could not score, the team lost from the lack of scoring depth in general. Dynamo only has one player with a point per game, and that same player is also the leading goal scorer for the team through that series. This offensive play was not nearly enough to be Warsaw, and the defensive play was also quite horrendous. The goaltending was good for Dymano, as one might expect from Xavier Booberry, but he wasn’t the best goaltender playing. Warsaw has Wumbo who played like a franchise goaltender, yes, he won 4 games, only losing 1, but Wumbo obliterated Booberrys save percentage of .911. Wumbo got a save percentage of .948 save percentage himself, a crazy number never seen in 5 games. Looking at Warsaws first series, there was nowhere that they underperformed in, they seemed to be dominant in the offensive, defensive, and goaltending categories, and if they want a second cup win, they must stay this course.

               

     The next team Warsaw will see is the Moscow Menace, a rematch on the European finals of last year. Moscow is not the same team they were last year, obviously we saw a drop in production for the Menace, but they came for blood with a big win against London United. Looking at Moscows team it looks to be very similar to Warsaw when it comes to production. With 8 players on Moscow with a point a game or more, the team, you could say, is better offensively than Warsaw. The veteran in net for Moscow in Papa Emeritus is also looking like a gem in these playoffs, with .927 save percentage. This matchup between Warsaw and Moscow will be very interesting as the matchup is very close and the teams might get physical as the games will be close and emotional. Moscow will likely have the edge in scoring and Warsaw in the defensive/goaltending stats, but in all honesty, these could be reversed, but as of now, the teams playoffs are looking like they are going this way.

 

     So, the next question is, who will win this bout? Warsaw looked solid all season, and only continued to improve in the playoffs. Moscow underperformed in the season slightly, but really picked it up in the playoffs, which could surprise Warsaw this series. However, it would be simply wrong to go against the dominant Warsaw team, so Warsaw I’ll win this in 7 game.