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It's Riga v. Seattle


CowboyinAmerica

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Seattle -- Our second play-in round since the Playoffs were reformatted is here, and this one's particularly interesting. The fourth seed Seattle Bears are set to take on the fifth seed Riga Reign in a rematch of last year's Finals, as well as a battle of two teams that had much higher expectations entering the season.

 

The Bears this year saw their first line not play up to expectations. Winger Gabriel McAllister, a popular dark horse MVP candidate, could only muster 80 total points. Linemate Shawn Gretzky, who had topped 100 points in three straight seasons, could only snag 73. Couple that with the second line playing solid, but not spectacular, and the Bears couldn't snag another first round bye.

 

Riga saw an even greater fall. The vaunted offense was finally hit be depreciation, and although Krigars scored 100 points again, former MVP John Locke fell to just 74 points in his penultimate season. Goalie Markus King underperformed his TPE as well - although his 2.07 GAA was solid, his .921 save percentage was less so.

 

So who will win this series and travel on to face Toronto in the semifinals? It could come down to the defenses. If Aleksei and Bourdon can hold the Seattle offense from taking shots better than Johnsson and Lane against Riga's high-powered first line, it could be a long series for the Bears.

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