Senior Admin Will 4,660 Posted April 4, 2015 Senior Admin Share Posted April 4, 2015 Playoffs and Shit The regular season has come to a close and first games of the Season 42 Playoffs are scheduled to be played tonight. The Helsinki Titans and the Quebec City Meute have earned buys in their respective conferences, meaning the first round pits Cologne against Stockholm and New York against Toronto. In each of the first two match-ups, there is a favorite. In the North American Conference, the reigning cup champions, the veteran squad of New York, are obviously predicted, almost assumed, to stomp on the young and inexperienced Toronto Legion. Similarly in the European Conference, the older and and more refined team in Cologne is slated to over-power the Stockholm Vikings, who just narrowly made the playoffs over Davos. However, the Vikings should not be counted out due to their relatively young age - in the regular season, Stockholm boasts a 6-2 record against Cologne, with only one of those wins being in extra time. They could very well put up a fight against the Express, and in any event this should be a very interesting series to watch. For Quebec and Helsinki, though, they have a little time to practice and prepare as they await to find out they will be facing off against in the conference finals. Quebec finished with the best regular season record in the league, meaning they have secured themselves a Victory Cup. One might ask, however, will the notoriously large ego of Quebec management, Quebec players, and pretty much everything else Quebec related get in the way of their Continental Cup aspirations? It very well could. Helsinki, on the other hand, appears to be entirely calm and collected. Since I mentioned earlier that they received a buy, Helsinki obviously finished first in the European Conference. This was by far the strongest we've seen the Titans perform since their rebuild drafts of S38/9. This can, at least partially, be attributed to the off-season acquisition of veteran goaltender Mike Szatkowski Jr., who has had a great season playing with Helsinki, where he has recorded an impressive 10 shutouts. In addition to Szatkowski, we've seen great seasons out of Faraday, Miller, Young, Draper, and even the young Oskars Harumpf when compared to their previous seasons with the club. Their biggest challenge going into the playoffs will be defense. Although they have a best defensive pairing in the league in Draper and Wylde, that's all they have. When Helsinki picked up Robert Gow III at the trade-deadline, many thought that he would be filling the gap on the blue-line. That hasn't been true, so far, as Gow has continued to play forward alongside Young and Miller. I suppose, though, they always have the option of dropping him back during playoffs if need be. It's clear though that Draper and Wylde must give it their all defensively if they hope to win against heavily offensive teams like Quebec and New York, as leaving Szatkowski out to dry isn't exactly a good strategy. Da Trifecta and Harumpf 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kesler 1,514 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 (edited) False. Once Titanic, always Titanic. Edited April 4, 2015 by Mr.Chevy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Tortorella 2,653 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I wish we could buy a bye. Will 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boubabi 4,725 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 My body is ready Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,830 Posted April 4, 2015 Admin Share Posted April 4, 2015 Blaine Olynick's final stand/revenge begins now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higgins 3,618 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 I wish we could buy a bye. My wallet is always open Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eaglesfan036 4,593 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Needs more RGME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DollarAndADream 3,356 Posted April 4, 2015 Share Posted April 4, 2015 Content: 3/3 - God damnit, Drapes. Quebec has a good record and you're saying everyone on the team has a huge ego from it? I'M NOT ALLOWED TO FEEL GOOD ABOUT MY TEAM!? Seriously, though...I don't know about the rest of my team but I'm pretty calm and collected about it all myself. Like I usually say every season, my team has what it takes to win but it's definitely not a for sure thing. Not to discount Toronto, but even if Quebec gets by NY it will be another tough test in Helsinki if they also indeed make the finals. Good write up.Grammar: 2/2 - The topic title has no capitals...but I SUPPOSE I can let that slide. "as they await to find out they will be facing off against" - as they await to find out WHO they will be facingAppearance: 1/1 - Is good, mate.Overall: 6/6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Senior Admin Will 4,660 Posted April 5, 2015 Author Senior Admin Share Posted April 5, 2015 I wish we could buy a bye. I see you have jokes there Gow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kesler 1,514 Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Claimed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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