Nighthawks find themselves in a familiar hole

[scoop 3,265]

After winning their second straight Victory Cup, the Malmo Nighthawks entered the playoffs hoping to avoid the same disastrous outcome from a season ago. So far, things are not looking good, as they've dropped the first two games to Moscow.

 

Last season, the Nighthawks fell in a sweep to the United in Round 2 of the playoffs. It was a very disheartening series, but Malmo came back this season with the same championship expectations they had going into Season 92. Although their 51-17-4 record wasn't quite as good as they had in the prior season, it was enough to finish first overall in the league once again. Knowing very well that the regular season record does not matter when it comes to the playoffs, the Nighthawks were cautiously optimistic going into the post-season. Yes, the regular season results meant nothing at this point, but neither did the sweep from a season ago. That was the past, and this is now. Sometimes, though, history does repeat itself.

 

The Nighthawks are in a 0-2 hole once again. They managed to take Game 1 to overtime, where Moscow finished things off with a quick power play goal. Game 2 was not particularly close, as the Nighthawks didn't manage a goal until the final minutes of the game, losing by a score of 3-1. In both games, Malmo was outshot despite having more power play opportunities, which is not a good sign for the rest of the series. It is certainly not over, but things are not looking good for the Nighthawks right now.

 

This is actually the third season in a row that the Nighthawks began the playoffs with an 0-2 deficit. In Season 91 when this current core made the playoffs for the first time, they also started 0-2. They were the fourth seed in Europe, playing against the Helsinki Titans in Round 1 of the playoffs. They did manage to tie up the series before losing the series clinching Game 5.

Edited April 29 by scoop