Season 44 was an up and down one for the Colorado Raptors. Not every completely settling down into a rhythm, and the team had to fight to make it into the playoffs. One game where the Raptors didn't fare so well was Game 88 against the Vancouver Whalers. The first glaring stat is that the Raptors were outshot 30-22, and specifically throughout the 2nd period they were hammered by the Whalers. Two thirds of the Raptors top line was negative two as well. But the most telling stat of the game was that the Powerplay for the Whalers posted a 75% conversion rate. If you want to win a game you need to limit the damage on the powerplay and the Raptors did not in this one.

As for a game where things went right? I would look at Game 33 against the Montreal Militia. This game should have been a big flashing signal for why the Colorado Raptors were going to upset the Militia in the playoffs. Goaltender Scottey Crawfling played well with 24 saves on 26 shots, and the Colorado Raptors shut down the Militia powerplay, giving up no goals in 5 chances throughout the game. But the most telling stat was the offensive production of the defense, with Sachimo Zoidberg Jr scoring a hattrick in the game. Everything went well for the Colorado Raptors in this one and they replicated it in the playoffs to take down the Militia in the first round.

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