martedì 15 maggio 2018

NHL Western Conference finals game 1-2 recap and analysis

Who are the two pretenders to the title of champions of the west?



The two teams coming to play for the final of the western conference are the Winnipeg Jets and the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Jets will have the advantage of the field factor in the series and seen the performance of the two teams in these playoffs I do not consider it as big an advantage as it could be in other circumstances. On an offensive level I see Winnipeg favored given his great ability to accompany the action with all the players on the ice, plus they have at the level of individuality players like Scheifele and Laine able to find the winning game on their own. On the defensive level instead I take Vegas, a tough team that in the playoffs has found a physicality that has often destroyed the game of their opponents, at the level of goalie Fleury and Hellebuyck at the moment are equivalent and are able to provide decisive performance even in situations of extreme pressure.



Game 1 WPG 4 VGK 2



At the Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg the Jets hosted the Knights for a race 1 that this city has been waiting for a long time and the team did not disappoint the expectations of the "whiteout" starting very strong and attacking their rivals right from the start. The result was the goal of Byfuglien with a precise snap shot from the blue line that beat Fleury on the far post, charging even more an already electric environment. After a few minutes Laine in power play thought to send a further message to the rivals using an excellent cross ice skate of Wheeler beating with a perfect conclusion Fleury on the first post, the third arrived directly from the blue area destined to the goalkeeper with Joel Armia he anticipated his defender by deflecting the penalty spot on goal and not interfering with the goalkeeper as the referees had initially whistled.

The reaction of the Knights came after a few seconds and was signed by Brayden McNabb, the former King who beat Hellebuyck with a violent wrist shot from the high slots reopening in fact a game that seemed almost compromised. In the second period the game has always been conducted by Winnipeg that thanks to a very inspired Wheeler has risked several times to score the fourth goal, a fourth goal that came about halfway through the period in power play on a violent shot by Byfuglien deviated by Sheifele that has been stuffed under the glove of an innocent Fleury. With less than five minutes on the time trial, Vegas tried to take advantage of a power play thanks to the duo Marchessault in the assist man version and Karlsson in the position of realizer deflecting the disk behind Hellebuyck. In the third period, the hosts continued to make the game and increasing the physicality of their game have denied any possibility of scoring to the dead Knights, never really able to be dangerous with continuity in the attack area.



Game 2 WPG 1 VGK 3



The first few minutes seemed the same match of game 1, with aggressive and very proactive jets able to create many problems to Fleury, a Fleury that unlike the previous match was able to deny the network to the owners and so doing so allowed his teammates to be able to play on the break. The excellent defense of the Knights (especially the forecheck) and their great reactivity have given their fruits with goals before Tatar in his third consecutive shooting in action and then with Marchessault who beat back-hand an innocent Hellebuyck left alone after the floppy lost on exit. The second period saw the Jets attack but without much lucidity and fluidity of maneuver, essential feature to be able to pierce a defense as efficient as that of Vegas. Nothing in fact for the hosts in the second period, and with two goals of disadvantage in the last period have tried everything and the results seemed to give him reason when in addition to force the Knights to make a penalty have also managed to capitalize with Connor who beat a guilty Fleury on the first post with a powerful snap shot. When the Bell MTS Place seemed to be on fire they thought about a badly lost disk and a troubled exit from Trouba to leave Marchessault once again just before free Hellebuyck to score the goal that definitively sentenced the Jets to the first defeat of this series. A defeat in my opinion deserved because the Knights have been able to impose their hockey removing the fluidity offensive of their rivals thanks to a careful and defensively positioned at a forecheck that left no space. The counterattack was like in the previous series a lethal weapon given the speed of execution and the coldness in finalizing it, Winnipeg in my opinion had to be more patient especially after reopening the game and too much enthusiasm mixed with a frenzy in justified by the time trial, they have brought the match still on to their favorite field, a field that if the Jets want to pass the round they have to avoid.


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