Quick Glance:
This series pits the teams that finished the regular season third and fourth overall against each other. Tickets are going very fast for these games. Oslo barely got past Helsinki in the first round, and considering Minsk had the best defense in the league and the second most productive offense, the Hussars could have the edge. Plus they have home ice advantage. But the Outlaws won three out of four meetings this season, Outlaws goalie Matt Murray has been hot and Minsk is dealing with injuries to Travis Hamonic and Par Arlbrandt. And more subtly, Oslo rarely takes penalties. No team spent less time shorthanded than the Outlaws did this season. That trait could be a factor in a tight series.
Goalies (playoffs):
- Oslo – Matt Murray 2.59 GAA and .925 save pct.
- Minsk – Attila Adorjan 1.94 GAA and .903 save pct.
Top Plus/Minus players (playoffs):
- Oslo – Radek Faksa, +3
- Minsk – Frank Vatrano, Fyodor Malykhin and Jimmie Ericsson, +4
Expert Panel Predictions:
- Commissioner Chuck: This series is a coin flip, really, but I will go with Minsk in 6 games. Why? The Hussars are solid throughout the lineup and their defense corps usually mixes in with the offense but they didn’t do that much against London in Round 1. The blue liners scored just one goal in five games and that’s unlike them. I think the D-men are due for more production and in a tight series, that could be big.
- Rose: Oslo wins in 7 games. They will be exhausted after two 7-game series, but I see Matt Murray frustrating the Hussars to the point of them taking too many bad penalties. And when you do that against Oslo, then you have Connor McDavid with more time and space to deal with. I also predict some team dissension in Minsk when the injured players get inserted back into the lineup. My sources say Charlie Coyle has already threatened to throw Par Arlbrandt’s street clothes in the shower if he gets stricken from the lineup.
