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***hotdog*** · 10-19-2020, 12:05 AM

With the playoff picture clearing up and just a few more regular season sim days to go, let's take a look at the upcoming playoffs.

For either the SHL or SMJHL, how do you expect the playoffs to play out? Write about a specific team's fate, the finals matchup you think we'll see, or any other elements of the upcoming playoffs you'd like to predict. Remember, FHM playoffs with 12 teams features re-seeding, so the finals may not be a typical East vs. West showdown!
25 words minimum Cheers

You will receive 1 TPE for fulfilling all requirements; several users who go above and beyond will be selected as participation+ members and receive an additional 1 TPE.
This PT will close Sunday, October 25th at 11:59pm ET.
If you have any questions/concerns, please PM me. Tasks with malicious intent will not be graded.

This PT is for SHL players and send downs only; it is not for SMJHL Rookies.

***hockeyiscool*** · 10-19-2020, 12:05 AM

Overall this coming playoffs is pretty funky compared to the standard 8 team playoffs that we've come to know and love. Transitioning to a 12 team playoff that seems to throw established rivalries and conference lines out of the window. The only thing that divisions yielded was each first place team of a division received a bye. These teams were Hamilton (1st seed), Calgary (2nd seed), Texas (3rd seed) and Manhatten (4th seed). The largest difference in seeding playing in the first round is between the Chicago Syndicate (the 5th best regular finishing team) and Winnipeg Jets (the 12th seed team). This match-up should be an absolute stomp. The Syndicate may be the 5th seed going into the playoffs but they will likely be a team that is in the finals. The Syndicate finished the regular season with the third most points total and second in the great lakes division. Chicago is a team that is at it's absolute peak and a Winnipeg Jets team with high expectations have underperformed all season and I don't see them changing anything before the play-offs.

This next series between Buffalo Stampede and Los Angeles Panthers is the series I'm actually excited for. This is because I have two really good friends in Jimmy Wagner and Alexander Roach squaring off. I expect Buffalo to win this series in a tight showdown but with the trade deadline acquisition of Jimmy Slothface anything could happen.

A series that could really yield an upset is the New England Wolfpack vs the Edmonton Blizzard. The wolfpack are seen as underdogs but they have performed the entire season above expectations and with someone one their team like MVDH having the know how of what it takes to go deep in the playoffs and win it. This is a huge advantage and we'll see if MVDH continues to have his playoff buff. I expect the Blizzard to lose this series in 7.

The last series in the first round is between NOLA and Atlanta Inferno. With NOLA dealing away Jimmy Slothface to Los Angeles at the trade deadline I expect an early exit from NOLA. This game should go to the Inferno in 5 games.

I don't really know how the reseeding will end up for the season 56 playoffs but something that is certain is this is the This playoffs format is not one I'm particularly excited about. Not because Tampa is on the outside looking in, but because the way the placement of the teams into the bracket after seeding. In some weird way the reseeding goes it places both the first ranked team (Hamilton) and the second ranked team (Calgary) on the same side of the bracket. So assuming Calgary and Hamilton win their respective games they will play in the semi-finals, this goes against all of competitive logic and feels like a terrible system.

I fully expect to see a Calgary vs. Hamilton Semi-final and a Buffalo vs Chicago Semi-final and a Hamilton vs Chicago Final. I expect Hamilton will run through these playoffs.

***Faelax*** · 10-19-2020, 12:05 AM

For my team, the Buffalo Stampede, I do expect us to have to play in the first round, but I believe that we will advance with no problems. We can stand up to any of the top teams in the league, and I believe in our fantastic coaches to set us up for success.

Rotti · 10-19-2020, 12:18 AM

I think the Whalers will win the 4 star cup this season in the SMJHL. While the Outlaws are somehow having the most prolific season ever, I don't think their goalies are going to be able to stand up to a Whalers team that has been dominant on both ends of the ice.

*AgentSmith630* · 10-19-2020, 12:42 AM

In the J, there are several teams that have legitimate chances at making runs at the finals. In the West, those teams are Vancouver and Anaheim, with Nevada and Anchorage having outside chances but still being decent contenders. From the East, we have Carolina, Newfoundland, and Maine, with St. Louis also having a decent chance at making it past the first (depending on seeding). My optimistic side sees Maine facing off against either Vancouver or Anaheim in the Finals, though with how the re-seeding works, it's possible that the Vancouver vs Anaheim matchup is the finals.

Dextaria · 10-19-2020, 12:47 AM

For the SMJHL, I the playoffs should be a lot closer compared to last season. For the first round, we have the Colorado Raptors versus the Quebec City Citadelles, the Kelowna Knights versus the Anaheim Outlaws, the St. Louis Scarecrows versus the Maine Timber, and the Detroit Falcons versus the Anchorage Armada. Then I will have to predict the rest of the playoffs based on this first round due to reseeding.

ROUND 1

Colorado Raptors vs Quebec City Citadelles
This should be a good series as the 2 teams look on par with one another 5-on-5. With their special teams, Quebec City has the advantage on the penalty kill while the Raptors have the top powerplay in the league. While both teams came in hot, I think in the end the Raptors' firepower will be too much for this Citadelles team therefore Colorado will move on to the next round in 6 games.

Kelowna Knights vs Anaheim Outlaws
This series is the wildcard series. I have no idea how this one is going to go because both teams come into the playoffs with majority of losses and the Outlaws numbers are not indicative of their performance because of the loss of Boxman. I think this series will go to a game 7 with basically a coin toss seperating the 2 teams. If I had to go with one, Outlaws in 7.

St. Louis Scarecrows vs Maine Timber
Similar to the Knights and Outlaws series, these 2 teams are coming in cold and this should be a close series. The numbers do seem to favour the Maine Timber; however the team's scoring has gone a bit dry and their goaltending hasn't been stellar. Thankfully for them, the St. Louis Scarecrows are doing no better so I think the Maine Timber will beat the Scarecrows in a game 7.

Anchorage Armada vs Detroit Falcons
With this matchup, I don't think it is close at all. The Anchorage Armada are firing on all cylinders while the Detroit Falcons are only relying on their top players like Sammy Blaze to carry them. I'm sorry to any Detroit fans but this series is looking like a Armada sweep. The most I'd give the Falcons are 2 games.

ROUND 2
Nevada Battleborn vs Anchorage Armada
This should be the most competitive series in the second round. Both teams are strong teams with 62 and 60 points respectively. They both do well 5-on-5 and their special teams have been lethal. With such strong teams going head-to-head against each other, I expect a close series where the Anchorage Armada will win in 7 games.

Anaheim Outlaws vs Newfoundland Berserkers
With me having the Outlaws barely scraping by the first round, I think this should be an easy series for the Newfoundland Berserkers. I would say it would be a sweep by the Newfoundland Berserkers because the Outlaws have been playing poorly ever since they lost Boxman. Berserkers in 4.

Maine Timber vs Carolina Kraken
The Maine Timber I expect should have a similar fate to the Carolina Kraken. However, as I see the Timber as being not as bad as the Outlaws, I'd give them a game so in the end I see the Carolina Kraken taking it in 5 games.

Colorado Raptors vs Vancouver Whalers
I think with the exception to the Anchorage Armada, I think the Colorado Raptors are one of the hotter teams coming from the first round. I wouldn't be surprised to see them take a game or two from the Vancouver Whalers. However, I think in the end the Whalers will come out on top winning the series in 6 games.

ROUND 3
Anchorage Armada vs Carolina Kraken
These series are getting closer and the Anchorage Armada versus the Carolina Kraken series is no exception. With the way the Armada came into the playoffs I think that they would be too much for the Kraken to handle. My prediction is that the Armada will take it in 6 games to send them off to the Four Star Cup finals.

Newfoundland Berserkers vs Vancouver Whalers
Between the Newfoundland Berserkers and the Vancouver Whalers, I think this matchup will be close, but in the end the Vancouver Whalers team that was so dominant in the regular season will take the win. Similar to my Anchorage versus Carolina series predictions, I predict a 6 games series with the Whalers moving on.

FOUR STAR CUP FINALS
Anchorage Armada vs Vancouver Whalers
Two teams coming from the same division, I think this would be a great series. I can see the series coming down to a game 7 with the Anchorage Armada taking the Four Star Cup home. It is a great run for the Whalers regardless, but it will certainly be interesting to see this series play out if it does.

JSS · 10-19-2020, 01:05 AM

Now apparently the Hamilton Steelhawks are front runners for this cup, but I believe this is not true. With cancerous LR members like @golden_apricot , the Steelhawks will never win if he is on the roster which is why we need to trade him

caltroit_red_flames · 10-19-2020, 01:22 AM

In my opinion the finals are going to end up being between the Atlanta Inferno and the Buffalo Stampede. And the Atlanta Inferno will win the Challenge Cup with the game winning goal in game 5 (that's right, we're winning in 5) will be scored by Brady McIntyre! Heck the rest of the league, we win!

5ympathies · 10-19-2020, 01:29 AM

Hamilton has had a great season (personally i didnt do as well cause RM stole my points), we now have the points record in a season, but in my opinion if we do not win the cup the season will be a failure in my eyes. Maybe my expectations are just too high, but we absolutely dummied the league in the reg season, we should be able to do it in the playoffs as well.

Thanks to JSS for the signature

**JamesT** · 10-19-2020, 01:38 AM

Code:
For either the SHL or SMJHL, how do you expect the playoffs to play out? Write about a specific team's fate, the finals matchup you think we'll see, or any other elements of the upcoming playoffs you'd like to predict. Remember, FHM playoffs with 12 teams features re-seeding, so the finals may not be a typical East vs. West showdown!

I expect the upcoming S56 SHL playoffs to feature a surprising winner! And that winner will be the Edmonton Blizzard

as they look to defeat the heavily favourited Hamilton Steelhawks

in the CC finals. Edmonton has been the underdog a plethora times and I predict we will see them being the winners for the S56 playoffs.

(56 words)

*Festinator* · 10-19-2020, 02:51 AM

I think that in the SHL, we'll see the Hamilton Steelhawks come out on top in the playoffs. They are simply too dominant offensively, and over a 7 game series I think they'd outscore any issues that the other teams would be able to cause them.

In the SMJHL, it is much harder to guess. Anaheim have been powerhouses offensively, But vancouver's defence and goaltending is what is giving them the league lead currently. Every other team in the smjhl has over 100 goals against, while Vancouver has only allowed 78 thus far. I believe it will be one of those teams that claims the title in the J. Although I hope the Berserkers can come up with a repeat. I think we have been pretty unlucky in the sims so far and hopefully our lucks turns at just the right time.

Mutedfaith · 10-19-2020, 03:25 AM

The final will go between two Eastern teams this season. Unfortunately the Calgary Dragons will find themselves falling just short of the battle for the cup. They'll most likely find their Waterloo in the semi finals, just like the Buffalo Stampede. The two teams duking it out in seven games for the Challenge Cup will be the Hamilton Steelhawks and the Chicago Syndicate.

Hamilton Steelhawks
Currently leading the league, even if it's only by one point, the Steelhawks rely on knowing they can outscore any opponent. Their 169 goals scored 38 games is over 20 goals more than the next highest scoring team. At the trade deadline, Hamilton acquired the retiring Igor Volkov, to upgrade their defense for the remainder of the season and going into the playoffs. Since they were already one of the better teams on the defense as well, their 67 goals conceded places them third lowest in the league, this addition will strengthen an already strong team. They have Morgan, Clapper and Wilson in the top 10 for points who are guaranteed to find the net against any opponent.

Chicago Syndicate
Runner up in the regular season so far. PLayed two games less than Hamilton, and if they win those they'll only be one win away from taking the top spot. They're second in the league for fewest goals against and third for goals scored. The Syndicate rely on Westbroek and Selman for their goals production, and both Smebs to feed them the puck.

The matchup
All the regular season games so far have been close. Two out of three were undecided before the end of regulation, and needed overtime or even a shootout to get a winner. The third game went to the Syndicate with a 2-1 final score in regulation. The Steelhawks will just want to play their normal games, and try to outscore the Syndicate and put them on the defensive, away from Jobin's net. The Syndicate seem to have found a strategy to beat the Steelhawks in their last game, and will be looking to reproduce those results. Given the tactical skills of the Steelhawks coaches, not an easy task. Looking at goalies, Jobin and Soonika have faced similar amounts of shots (831 vs 838) and have pretty even savepercentages. If one of them can pick up some heat in the finals and improve on their (already great) regular season perfomance, they may be able to give their team the edge they need to end up lifting that trophy.

The result
Given their regular season dominance, and the upgrade of one of their defenders on their already strong team, I can't look pasdt the Hamilton Steelhawks to win the Challenge Cup this season.

Salming · 10-19-2020, 04:12 AM

In the SMJHL, my top candidates for the championship are last season's best team Newfoundland and Vancouver who leads entire SMJHL with 58 points. Even though Carolina Kraken leads the East with 47 points, I believe in experience and if it faces Newfoundland for example in the semi-finals, I would pick NL over Kraken. Maine is also one of the teams who could surprise and win the right games.

dankoa · 10-19-2020, 04:47 AM

I'm interested to see how the Texas Renegades get on in the playoffs this season. Obviously last time around things didn't go great but with some solid improvement and the continual growth that we've seen over the last season or so, I think the team's in a much stronger position this time around. I think if we're matched up with one of the top 3 teams in the East then it might be a bit too much of a struggle, but I think we'll be able to give a good fight to any other potential opponents.

Nictox · 10-19-2020, 06:15 AM

New Orleans should easily make the playoffs and run deep. The team is committed to doing their best and we do some of our best work in during the playoffs.

RIP Dangel #AD26 | RIP TDZ

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