These two teams have a history of playing entertaining games. They can play the run and gun game, they can play a smart defensive game, or they can play a downright rugged physical game. They've done it all over the years, done it all but play each other in the playoffs. That last sentence won't hold true tomorrow night though, as these two rivals face-off in the second round.
The regular season saw these two teams split their series 1-1. The Shockers won the first battle, the first game of the season, 7-3. The Shockers exploited the Red Army's lack of discipline and capitalized on the Soviets' endless march to the penalty box. In the forty something days between games against the Shockers, Mother Russia had a complete makeover done. She wasn't the scrappy bitch that looked to start fights and throw your laundry on the front lawn when you came home too late. No, she is hot now. She looks good, damn good... and she is out of your league. Game 2 resulted in the Soviets exorcising some demons and disposing of the Shockers 6-3, in a game that featured discipline, solid goaltending, opportunistic offense, and two points.
Game 3 will settle the score for good on this season.
But what are the keys for Mother Russia's Boys? What do they have to do to finally make it to that elusive third round? A few things have transpired in the past 24 hours that might make the game a bit harder than some fans of the Comrades may have thought. For one, late season acquisition Brad Lotocki will not be in the lineup. He is in New York City until Monday, and won't be able to help the Red Army defense. Jerrod Funk, who is also a prominent defender for the Lenin-Lovers, is questionable after his skates were totaled. The rivets in his CCM 2.0s came undone and he is without an extra pair. If him and Brad are unable to play, Kraus may have to play just as well or better than he did in the season finale.
It isn't all bad news though. Captain Steve Hand, whose drunken antics caused him to injure his ankle three days before finding out if his shoulder had healed, is in fact, healed in all places. The captain's net presence should be a sight for sore eyes tomorrow night. Also, with Lotocki and Funk possibly out, and Kraus promising to make the game, Andy Schram will get to skate back on defense. His ability to keep the opposing forwards from establishing a net presence (assuming he can do so cleanly) should be a sight for sore eyes as well. All in all, no more sore eyes.
Even with the three or four guys rotating in and out of the lineup, the core remains the same. The core that has been, well.. at the core, for every Red Army victory will remain in tact. Ryan Odell, Ben Breiterman, and Scott Hoefer guard the blue line while Pat King, Mark Hendricks, and Tony Horton lead an all out assault on the Shocker goal line.
Here are the projected lines:
OFFENSE:
HENDRICKS/KING
HAND/HORTON
DEFENSE:
BREITERMAN/SCHRAM
ODELL/HOEFER
GOALIE:
KRAUS
QUESTIONABLE:
FUNK
Now, the keys to the game. Here are five things I've outlined as things that Mother Russia needs to do if she wants to keep dancing.
1: Discipline. Can't stress this one enough. Whether it is 3-3 or 6-0, don't do anything stupid. The game is never over until the final horn sounds. If the Soviets can stay out of the box, I like their chances.
2: Score early, often. Lately, the Red Army has made it a point to wait until late in games to unleash hell. Why wait? Get an early lead and build on it.
3: Breakouts. Avoid the long shifts where the puck is pinned down by Kraus the whole time. Forwards should help out on defense and help get the puck out as well.
4: Backchecking/forechecking. This comes down to skating. Skate hard for the whole shift. King and Hendricks have one of the best forechecks in the league and have scored many goals off of creating turnovers, but their backcheck has been lacking (namely due to one forward who shall remain nameless but promises to skate hard tomorrow).
5: Short shifts. You can't skate hard if your shift is four minutes long. Get on, skate hard, get off. Two minutes should be the maximum.
A week ago there were 12 teams vying for the championship, tonight, on the eve of the Red Army's first playoff game, only 7 remain. When the clock strikes midnight tomorrow only 4 will be left. Winning ten in a row in the regular season is special, but winning four in a row in the playoffs would be spectacular. Number one is tomorrow night. Get your mother fucking towels ready.
No comments:
Post a Comment