2 potential Wolves' weaknesses in the postseason

[VattghernCZ 975]

What a year for the Wolves. Since the start of the season, it's been obvious they're gonna be the team to beat. Departure of Biggie Cheese and Alexandre Leduc left some fans pessimistic, and even Nezuko's signing wasn't enough to satisfy the naysayers. However, the Wolves made a statement by winning the Victory Cup with 50-16-6 record.

 

Being the top regular season team right after winning the Continental Cup makes the Wolves major favorites in any series. They've been all around great team in most of the categories, but let's look at some areas of the game they should pay attention to, otherwise that could potentially sink their hope to go for a back-to-back title.

 

Penalty kill

Despite being one of the better defensive teams in the league, allowing 6 shots less than they generate every game on average without being up there in shots blocked, their penalty kill is 80.28%. Which is below league average of 82.15%. Luckily, they have been one of the less penalized teams. But players tend to play with more grit in the postseason.

 

Rookie skaters in big roles

It's always hard to predict how well a rookie will do in their first postseason run, and the Wolves have two of them. Well, three, but Jeremy Swayman is a goaltender, and the Wolves are expected to roll with Brandt Fuhr. Wann Kerr (center) plays over 25 minutes a night and Jens Lekman (defenseman) almost 29 minutes a night. Will they rise to the occassion, or crumble under the pressure?