Playoff final Zug-ZSC Lions – EV Zug: A team made of one piece – Sport

It is logical that EV Zug, as the current number 1 in Swiss ice hockey, is in the final. The defending champions won their 2nd consecutive qualifier and haven’t lost a playoff game in almost a year.

Coach Dan Tangnes’ team acts powerfully and creatively up front, without losing sight of the defensive tasks. The attackers are looking for the best possible final position without being overly “artificial”. Once the team is installed in the opposing third, it can also pull up a “Powerplay 5 against 5”. An overview of Zug’s strengths:

• Offensive: Zug scored 29 goals (3,625 on average, best in the league) in 8 playoff games. The parade line with Jan Kovar, Grégory Hofmann and Dario Simion (8 goals) was even trumped by the block around Sven Senteler (10). One of the EVZ’s strengths is its breadth. The line around Sven Leuenberger is equal to the top blocks in terms of plus-minus balance. “We have four lines that play very well,” says Hofmann happily.

• power play: The master is particularly dangerous when outnumbered. Zug scored 13 times (1.6 goals per game) or almost every third power play opportunity. The one conceded shorthander (in game 3 against Lugano) can also be coped with.

• Defensive: The defense is in the saddle with only 11 goals conceded (1.38 per game), only 7 of them with a numerical tie. In the series against Lugano, they allowed more than 40 shots per game on their own goal, but mostly from a safe position. Against Davos, that number dropped to just under 22 per match.
• Goalkeeper: Leonardo Genoni almost always lost what came on target. The 34-year-old has the best save percentage of playoff goalies at 95.6 percent – up two percentage points from the 2021-22 playoffs and over three from qualifying. “Leo is playing incredibly again in the playoffs,” praises Hofmann.

• Foreigner: With Hofmann’s return, EVZ lost the right to deploy a 5th foreigner. That’s not even necessary, the 4 players brought the desired reinforcements, namely Kovar and the defenders Christian Djoos (9 points) and Niklas Hansson (6). Anton Lander (6 appearances) was usually preferred to the top qualifying goalscorer Carl Klingberg (2). “Just being able to train is mentally tough. But you have to be mentally ready when you’re needed,” Klingberg said recently Lucerne newspaper.
• Trainer: On the ice, Norwegian-Swedish duels usually end with a Swedish victory. Zug’s Norwegian Dan Tangnes has done almost everything right as head coach since 2018. He won a championship title and a qualification for the finals and – unlike his Swedish colleague Rikard Grönborg with the ZSC Lions – hardly ever came under criticism.

• home advantage: EVZ has won 24 of its 30 home games so far this season. One of the rare defeats towards the end of qualifying was against the ZSC Lions. The fact that Zug fans (except for the sold-out Bossard Arena) are likely to flock to the public viewing in front of the stadium could give the team an additional boost. And unlike the Frown Party 2021, a championship celebration would be legal this year.