Playoff Previews: First Round VAN/TOR

[Mr_Hatter 1,608]

Playoff Previews: First Round

Vancouver Wolves v. Toronto Legion

 

Coming out of the regular season we see one of our teams at the top of the league, and the other at the bottom of all playoff teams. The disparity between the two teams is self-evident, with the high-flying Vancouver Wolves being the only team to finish with over 100 points, having ended the season on 103 points with a +81 goal differential. The Toronto Legion, on the other hand, come into the playoffs as the only playoff team across both conferences to finish below 80 points. They ended the season with 73 points and a goal differential of -9, the worst out of playoff teams and one of only two teams to have made the playoffs with a negative goal differential. Despite the obvious gap between the two teams, it is the playoffs, and anything can happen. For now, let’s run back the tape, and see what brought these two teams together for this first-round matchup. 

 

Road to the Playoffs

 

Both teams come into the playoffs looking to return to the heights of their former glory. Vancouver won the Continental Cup just two seasons ago, while Toronto won in back to back seasons of S64 and S65. As can be expected, however, Vancouver retains much of the inertia of their prior performances, and despite exiting in the first round of last season’s playoffs, they have finished in the top two teams of the North American Conference every season since the conferences were split back in S66. Toronto, on the other hand, have recently slumped quite heavily. Despite finishing with a whopping 113 points in S67 (the year Vancouver won the cup), they have since finished fourth in their conference, worst out of all playoff teams, both this season and last. This Toronto team is a far cry from the powerhouse Legionnaires from just a few seasons ago.

 

If we take a look at the teams’ head to head performances during the regular season, the picture is not quite so clear, despite the duality of their regular-season records. Vancouver did win the regular-season series, but only with 5 out of 8 victories, with one of those games coming in a shootout. It’s clear that Vancouver has the edge, but this Toronto team is still more than capable of taking games off the Wolves. When we examine the games further, the Legion scraped by those three victories in a gritty, hard-fought fashion, winning all three by a score of 3-2. The Wolves, on the other hand, won their games somewhat more convincingly, winning three by a score of 5-3, one shutout victory of 3-0, and the close, shootout victory that was tied 2-2 at the end of regulation. It’s clear, then, that when Vancouver is good, they are good, and that they are the favorites heading into the series, but the fact that all but one of these games were decided by a score of 2 or fewer goals bodes well for the underdogs. If they are able to slow down Vancouver’s offence, they have a case for a surprise upset in the first round. 

Why Vancouver will win

 

Offence. The Wolves have built this season’s regular season on the simple premise that scoring the most goals will win you the game. They have two of the top three leaders in points, and four of the top eight. In fact, their four leading scorers all have more points than Toronto’s top-scoring, Rylan Peace. Superstar centre Hunter Hearst Helmsley has adjusted well to the Wolves and is leading the team with 92 points. Right behind him is Julius Freeman with 89 points, followed by Diljodh Starload and Shawnomir Jagr, with 85 and 83 points respectively. Starload, specifically, leads the lead in assists with 67, and is the top-scoring defenseman this year, proving a strong candidate for the Valiq and Labette trophies. This Vancouver team led the league with 248 goals scored, 23 better than the next closest Seattle Bears. Simply put, the Wolves will likely outshoot, outscore, and outgun any opponent that comes their way. Look to them as the clear favorites in this first-round matchup. 

Why Toronto will win

 

Veteran leadership. Despite having on average a lower experienced team than the Wolves, the Legion has three core players of Rylan Peace, Tzuyu, and JB Rift that have a lot of playoff experience between them. If these vets are able to control the game and dictate it’s tempo, they have a chance to upset the Wolves. If the Legion want to win this series, they are going to have to slow down the Wolves offence and rely heavily on their defence. In games against the Wolves during the regular season that the Legion won, goalie JB Rift had a combined .943 SV%, allowing 6 goals on 106 shots. To have hope in this series, Toronto needs to have those same kinds of performances from the veteran netminder. Looking to the blueline, Tzuyu has been a bright spot this season for the Legion, with the team’s highest +/- ratio of +12.  With their veterans ageing, and no draft picks insight, this may be the last hurrah for this Toronto team, as they are looking ahead to an ugly rebuilding period that doesn’t hold a lot of hope for the once-great Legion.

 

In conclusion, this series should fall to the hands of the S69 Victory Cup champions. On paper, they are the clear favourites, and the gulf in talent between the two teams is clear. Despite the Legion taking a few games off the Wolves during the regular season, and holding most of the games close, I find it unlikely they will be able to steal four games out of seven. With the Wolves finishing the season strong, and depth at almost every position, I expect them to take the series in five games, with one masterclass performance from JB Rift as a bittersweet memory of days gone by for this Toronto franchise.  

 

Players Mentioned: @Dil, @Peace, @Beaviss, @tfong, @Devise, @TheLastOlympian07, @rjfryman

 

VSN Writer Mr_Hatter
 

[Banackock 8,138]

Good stuff and read  

 

I think a majority of the league would side with Vancouver in this one. Hard not to.

[MexicanCow123 915]

[TheLastOlympian07 2,388]

my guy finally did stuff after 3 seasons of nothing