Desperate battles for the final playoff spots in the EURO League’s two conferences has Geneva outside looking in, with London in the same position … at the moment.
Helsinki slipped past London thanks to the Dons losing four straight games to playoff-bound teams in games number 78 through 81. London’s regular season is over, but they have 38 wins to Helsinki’s 36. Helsinki needs a point at home against Oslo on Sunday to make the playoffs and end the Dons’ season. If Oslo wins in 60 minutes of playing time, then Helsinki slides behind London and out of the playoffs.
Four days ago, Helsinki’s Brad Marchand was the only one of six shooters who was able to score in a shootout between the Jokerit and Bern and that goal had huge implications. Not only did it provide the extra point in the standings for Helsinki, it also kept Bern within striking distance of Zurich, who was hoping to get home-ice advantage when the Lions and Bears meet in round one of the playoffs. The next day, Zurich extended their winning streak to five games with a 4-3 win over Geneva. That win locked up 4th place in the Southern Conference for Zurich and kept Bern in 5th.
In that game with Geneva, the Generals experienced a fatal cave-in. They led 3-0 with half a period to go but gave up 3 goals to Zurich before the final buzzer. The game then went into a shootout and only Zurich’s Patrick Kane could score. Then in their final game against Paris, Geneva gave up a late goal again and lost in a shootout one more time. The failure to collect those 2 extra points allowed Madrid to slip into the 8th spot despite the fact they lost 5 of their last 6 games.
At the top of the standings, where there are 8 teams with 104 points or more, defending champion Moscow will win the President’s Trophy as the best team in the regular season. Paris can still tie Spartak’s point total of 113 points, but Moscow would have one more win.
Paris’ opponent in their 82nd game will be the Belfast Giants who ride an 8-game win streak into Paris. The Giants’ late surge has catapulted them into 3rd place overall in the standings.
(Editor’s note: Sorry about the absence of stories. Moving my son across the country and into an apartment, and then dealing with a backlog at work when I returned cut into my time. I will try not to let family and my job come before Websim Hockey again.)
