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As the season beings to wind down, the New York Americans find themselves in a bit of an unexpected position in the standings. Most experts didn't expect New York to make the playoffs. A majority of them thought that The Seattle Bears would be the team to come out of the Western Conference as the #3 seed. For some reason Seattle appears to be tanking. They've traded players away and signed free agents who have no place in the VHL, a clear indication that they have no interest in winning and instead are trying to lose as often as possible. It's moves like this that Niklas Kurri wanted to avoid. By all reports, Kurri is thrilled that he escaped after his rookie season and that he's not a part of the Seattle franchise.

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Seattle forward Mario De Rossi



The New York Americans have played solid yet unspectacular hockey all season. The team has struggled to find balanced scoring throughout the line-up and has played average defensively. New York has received a minimal amount of support from their defenseman in the offensive zone. As of the time of this article, the Americans were one game under 500 and have moved into the final playoff spot. It's not like they've been playing good either... the team is 5-5 over their last 10 games and have lost 3 in a row. Luckily for the Americans, the Seattle Bears have found a whole new level of horrible play and have basically moved out of the way, allowing the Americans to capitalize.

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teammates congratulate Edwin Reencarnacion

One bright spot for the American has been the play of the teams 2nd line. Niklas Kurri is becoming one of the top forwards in the league and has been scoring consistently for a majority of the season. Kurri is climbing the VHL scoring leaderboards and is now firmly in the top ten league wide in goal scoring. Edwin Reencarnacion is beginning to find his scoring touch. Reencarnacion is second in rookie scoring and has recorded nearly a point per game. Reencarnacion has really stepped up his game since he was placed on a line with Kurri and Finnish grinder Jorma Ruutu. Ruutu is another rookie who has been playing very well. Ruutu is also among the top 5 in rookie scoring, totaling 50 points so far. Ruutu's two-way play has perhaps been undervalued. Ruutu has been excellent in all three zones. With a strong finish to the regular season, Both Reencarnacion and Ruutu are capable of being the leagues rookie of the year.

So will New York be able to close the deal and qualify for the post-season? All signs point to yes, thanks to Seattle throwing in the towel despite the fact it looked like they were about to cruise to a playoff birth. New York is looking forward to the opportunity to play spoiler in the post-season. If the playoffs began today, New York would match up with the Calgary Wranglers. The Wranglers have been on fire recently and haven't lost in regulation over the past 10 games.

Edited by nikkurri17

Content 3/3 - It's disappointing to see teams purposely tank, but that's how it is sometimes. At least the Americans and Kurri are enjoying it. It seems that the team will certainly be going to the playoffs, so hopefully New York will be able to pull off a miracle like Seattle did last season.

 

Grammar 1.5/2 - There were quite a few errors here, so I docked half a mark. It's getting better though!

 

beings -> begins
The Seattle Bears -> the Seattle Bears
Western Conference -> North American Conference
one game under 500 -> one game under .500 win percentage/.500%
the American -> the Americans
teams 2nd line -> team's second line
leagues rookie of the year -> league's rookie of the year
 
Appearance 1/1 - That picture at the top actually made me laugh. It's a crime that I can't give bonus points.
 
Final 5.5/6 --> 6/6
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