McWolf 3,115 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 (edited) Playoff Previews First Round: Moscow Menace vs Prague Phantoms Season 70 playoffs haven’t even started yet, but there are already some storylines that make it one of the most interesting seasons in recent memory, one of which being that this the first time that both the D.C. Dragons and Prague Phantoms reach the playoffs after they joined the VHL in Season 68. However, it would be surprising to see the Phantoms come on top in their first-ever series, as they are facing the Victory Cup-winning Moscow Menace, arguably the favourite team to capture the Continental Cup, which would incidentally make it the first time they make the Continental Cup Finals. Road to the playoffs The Moscow Menace has just won the first Victory Cup - handed to the team with the best regular-season record - in franchise history and are not looking they are stopping their dominance anytime soon. They finished 1st in the whole league and earned home-ice advantage for the whole duration of the playoffs thanks to an impressive haul of 250 goals, giving them an average barely lower than 3.5 goals per game played, almost a full goal over the league average of 2.6. They have also been strong defensively, which allows them to hold a league-high 68-goal differential. On the other side of the playoffs spectrum, we have the Menace's opponents: the Prague Phantoms. They are the 8th team in - and actually finished behind the 5th-ranked North American Conference team - meaning that they hold the worst record among the 8 teams competing for the Season 70 Continental Cup. They are also the only team still playing with a negative goal differential, as they have allowed 24 more goals than they have scored. Why the Moscow Menace should win The Menace will win this best-of-7 series because simply put, their offence is firing on all cylinders. Their roster bears 4 of the league's 5 best scorers and a whopping 7 players over the point-per-game mark, including two-time Sterling Labatte Trophy winner - and this season's favourite to win it again - Smitty Werbenjagermanjensen. Jet Jaguar paced all skaters with 97 points, while Randoms' 44 goals outscored every other VHL players. Forwards Mat Tocco, Dan Baillie and Gritty, and defenseman Vladimir Pavlov round out the team's high octane core. In net, Raymond Bernard has been great for them too, holding a fine save percentage of .915% while notching a league-high 45 wins. It looks like there's nothing to stop this well-oiled machine, as they look forward to reaching their first-ever Continental Cup Finals and maybe be the first of the four 60's expansion teams to be crowned as VHL Champions. Why the Prague Phantoms should win The most encouraging fact for the Phantoms coming into this series against the Russian juggernaut is the fact that they were able to win both games played in Moscow during the regular season. They did lose their three games presented in Czechia, but it still shows that they can compete with them. The real question, however, is 'can they compete with them over a 7-game series'? Looking at both team's rosters on paper, the answer seems towards 'no'. Veteran Roll Fizzlebeef and youngsters Willie Dredge and Alex Pearson will need to catch fire and convert all their scoring opportunities if they want Prague to stand a chance. Their inexperienced defensive core of Cinnamon Block, Wolf Stansson Jr and Seabass Perrin will also need to step their game up to a whole other level to give a chance to recent free agent signing Brick Wahl to stop Jaguar and co. This series is as one-sided as it gets. Moscow are the favourites to win it all and, well, Prague would basically need some voodoo magic to incapacitate their opponents if they want to make it through to the second round. This is only a transition for the more recent expansion team though, as this is surely a first of many playoff appearances and they should enter the next couple of post-seasons with better odds of coming out with a Continental Cup. It should be a fun experience for their young core, though. Enjoy it! Players mentioned: @flyersfan1453 @gorlab @hedgehog337 @Matmenzinger @wcats @eaglesfan036 @Victor @Mr_Hatter @TacticalHammer @sjs88speed @Jayrad28 @omgitshim @Cornholio @Sebster03 @BladeMaiden VSN Writer McWolf Edited February 29, 2020 by McWolf wcats, Mr_Hatter, Jayrad28 and 5 others 7 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/ Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,937 Posted February 29, 2020 Admin Share Posted February 29, 2020 Москва Москва Москва Mr_Hatter 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718127 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jayrad28 395 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 Phantoms gonna shit all over the menace gorlab, BladeMaiden, Victor and 2 others 2 1 1 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718168 Share on other sites More sharing options...
McWolf 3,115 Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 19 minutes ago, Jayrad28 said: Phantoms gonna shit all over the menace Jayrad28, gorlab and BladeMaiden 1 1 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718178 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire Tortorella 2,653 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 1 hour ago, Victor said: Москва Москва Москва oi oi oi Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718182 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin Victor 10,937 Posted February 29, 2020 Admin Share Posted February 29, 2020 8 minutes ago, McWolf said: Maybe he means literal shit? Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718188 Share on other sites More sharing options...
gorlab 4,321 Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 Brick Wahl can't stop me. Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718196 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomsday 4,128 Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 It would not mark the first time voodoo was used to capture the Continental Cup. Victor and McWolf 1 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718309 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BladeMaiden 1,807 Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 On 2/29/2020 at 2:12 PM, gorlab said: Brick Wahl can't stop me. Bitch What you say??? My save % would suggest differently... gorlab 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718358 Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doomsday 4,128 Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 52 minutes ago, BladeMaiden said: Bitch What you say??? My save % would suggest differently... Steaming hot take for a goalie that just got swept out of the playoffs. Victor 1 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718376 Share on other sites More sharing options...
TacticalHammer 95 Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 If all else fails, at least we don't have to live in Moscow. McWolf, gorlab, Seabass and 1 other 1 1 2 Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-718425 Share on other sites More sharing options...
BladeMaiden 1,807 Posted March 6, 2020 Share Posted March 6, 2020 On 3/1/2020 at 3:36 PM, Doomsday said: Steaming hot take for a goalie that just got swept out of the playoffs. Sweep me baby, idc i have been on losing teams long enough to appreciate the ride for what it is. Bring the brooms to round 2 good luck lol Link to comment https://vhlforum.com/topic/78205-playoff-previews-first-round-mosprg/#findComment-719418 Share on other sites More sharing options...
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