HELSINKI – Maybe the Helsinki Jokerit had first-time jitters. The glaring spotlight of the Finals was a new experience for them. The Smurfs certainly had no reason to show any jitters. They have been a fixture in the big series for the last four seasons.
While the Jokerit only lost at home 3 times during the regular season, Berlin won all three games in Finland in the series – and one of two in Germany – to win the first EURO Cup for forever coach Adam Oates and GM Guybrush Threepwood.
The Smurfs looked calm, cool and collected, relying on great penalty killing throughout the series and getting the best game Aleksander Barkov ever played in Game 5. The Finn who centered the Smurfs’ second line with Anders Lee and Jan Kovar on his wings scored once in the first period, again in the second period and then waited until the second minute of overtime to get his hat trick. It triggered the wildest celebration in franchise history – if you don’t count the ovations Erik Forssell got every time he entered a building.
Helsinki, the top team in the regular season, had a commanding advantage in shots in the game (42-24) but Berlin goalie Calvin Pickard was on his game too, giving the Smurf skaters a chance to perform their heroics.
Barkov finished the playoffs with 18 points in 20 games, good enough to place him 16th in the league. Ahead of him on the list were three other Berlin forwards and four Jokerit forwards. Belfast’s Nathan MacKinnon led everyone with 32 points in 18 games and he played one series less than the finalists did.
In Game 5, Helsinki’s powerplay was stymied, getting shut out in 8 man advantage situations. They were 1 for 8 in Game 4; 1 for 4 in Game 3; 0 for 7 in Game 2; and 0 for 5 in Game 1. Credit Pickard, his defensemen Staffan Kronwall, Shea Weber, Morgan Rielly and Roger Karrer; as well as forwards Forssell, Lee, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Vadim Shipachyov for the great penalty killing work.
Berlin was runners-up in Season 5, losing in the Finals to Belfast and this group made it the Finals in Seasons 9 through 12, losing to Belfast again and then to Copenhagen twice before finally claiming the grand prize. Most of Berlin’s stars are 29 or 30 years old and they matured together and ripened at the right time. They apparently took notes and learned a lot from Belfast and Copenhagen the last three years. Berlin won all four of its playoff series 4 games to 1.
Sepp Blatter, the league’s Director of Player safety and Discipline, said he would review video of the entire game but doubted he would see any reason to overturn Berlin’s victory. It was interesting that he said that before Wednesday’s game began. Threepwood called it a “very costly series.” He did not explain that remark however.
