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MarlinManiac4 · 02-27-2020, 09:54 PM

Ready for Grading-769 Words. I dont know if this counts for the RBM2 as it doesn't quite fit into any of the prompts, though I did throw in a quote about some pre-playoffs prep. If it doesn't, go ahead and apply my x2 "first" article bonus.

Denver Post

Mix of old and new has Raptors roaring out to 2-0 series lead

Denver, Colorado

After a long season of exceeding expectations, no one was quite sure what kind of Raptors team we would see heading into the playoffs. Despite coming in a tie for first in the regular season, questions still swirled. Can they keep up their league leading defense in a high-pressure playoff environment? Can they score enough for it to even matter? How will the rookies respond? It seems that the Raptors looked to make a statement to answer all these questions in the first two games of this series.

In front of a rocking home crowd, the raptors managed to control the flow of both games. Two goals within a minute of each other in game 1 allowed Colorado to take a fairly commanding 1st period lead that in true Colorado fashion, they would not relinquish. St. Louis had seemingly settled in during the 2nd period, making it a 1 goal game, but Colorado would stun them with 3 goals in the 3rd period to put the game away. Game 2 looked closer on the scoreboard, but if you watched the game, it was clear who had the advantage early. In the first period, Colorado came out gunning to pick up where they left off in the 3rd period of game 1, maintaining possession and outshooting the Scarecrows 13-4, while managing to take yet another 2 goal lead into the 2nd period. The game would tighten up, but soon after the Crows managed to bring it back to a 1 goal game, Colorado would once again put them away with a goal to secure the victory.

At the top of the team leaders there are some names you expect. Henrik Lekberg Osterman has put in the kind of performance you would expect, with a goal and 3 assists in 2 games, anchoring the team as he always does. Also no strangers to getting on the scoreboard, Denver Wolf and Hariken Urawa each played well with 3 points so far. But adding a new gear for this Raptors offense has been the contributions of a few lesser known rookies. Bradley Barkov and Sven Svenson have played a key role for the Raptors so far. Barkov, a 2nd round selection out of Finland for the Raptors in last years draft, leads the league in points in the 2nd round of the playoffs with 2 goals and 3 assists. Svenson, a 4th round selection out of Sweden, has 2 goals and 1 assist to rank tied for first in team leaders in goals scored. Barkov and Svenson have also appeared to form a good working chemistry between the forward line and the blue line. While working on the Power play late in game 1, Svenson sent a sharp pass across to Barkov who was rotating forward and then buried the shot in back of the net. In game 2 Barkov repaid the favor, giving the dish to Svenson in front of the net which was then scored. Barkov had this to say postgame: “Yeah Sven and I have become good friends over the course of the season. We actually put in some extra work during the bye week before the series. We got to the arena before practice started to do some of our own drills. We would each practice our passing and get a better feel for each other’s tendencies on the ice. So far, I’d say it has paid off. I just knew where he was going to make his move to the net and I was able to fire a pass to meet him. That one felt so smooth and I was glad our work paid off for our team.”

The power play has also played a major factor for both teams in the series. While St. Louis has yet to convert on the Power play, Colorado has scored three times out of nine opportunities, good for a 33% rate. This special teams advantage is fairly surprising given the Raptors had come into this series with only the 9th ranked power play in the lead. Colorado has made special teams a priority in practice after identifying it as a key way to gain an advantage over their opponent and that decision has paid dividends. The special teams success has largely made Colorado goaltender Samat Beibitzhanov’s job easier, getting to play with a lead during both games and watching Colorado’s stingy defense get to work in front of him. Through 2 games Beibitzhanov has been very solid, sporting a .907 save %. The Raptors look to continue their winning ways as the series shifts to St. Louis with game 3 tomorrow.

***hhh81*** · 02-27-2020, 10:43 PM

Henrik · 02-28-2020, 01:03 AM

Barkov is a complete stud!

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