Zug vs Geneva - Game 2
Zug cruising like in regular season
In our series preview, we warned that: “Prepare for a quest toward defensive perfection as this series will be played inside the slot, and and it will be up to whichever makes the fewest mistakes.“ Yes, we are just copying and pasting our recap from Game 1. Zug was showcasing its defense and didn’t give anything to Geneva tonight.
Not much happened during the first period. The biggest chance for Geneva came from Tömmernes, on a very well executed two passes sequence in the slot. But Genoni killed the play right away. For Zug, Kovar was able to recover a bad play from Omark to go and face Manzato.
After 20 minutes: 0.40 Expected Goal (xG) for Geneva, 0.30xG for Zug.
Then, Zug just took it to another level in the second period. Even if the score was still tied at 1-1 at the horn, we clearly only saw one team on the ice for twenty minutes. After only 33 seconds, Zehnder found himself all alone in the slot and had enough time to shot and get his own rebound but Manzato stood strong. A few minutes later, on a rush, Hofmann got a golden opportunity following two Royal-road passes, from Kovar to Leuenberger to Hofmann who missed the net. One minute later, Manzato was saved by his post on a shot from Abdelkader getting a chance shorthanded.
And then, on the first Zug power-play, Simion was able to tip a shot between Manzato legs at the end of a very long 1:56 shift from the first PP squad that put the Grenat penalty-kill on its knees.
It was a little miracle that Geneva found a way to score, also on a power-play, near the end of the period when Smirnovs sent the puck to Vermin on the goal line, who immediately passed it to Rod alone in the slot. The captain’s shot went perfectly above Genoni’s right shoulder. That type of plays had been identified by Vermin himself (in an interview for the podcast 1905 and the RTS here) as a solution to beat Genoni. And we clearly saw Geneva tried it on several occasions tonight.
After 40 minutes: 0.86 Expected Goal (xG) for Geneva, 2.56xG for Zug.
The third period looked like the first, with few chances on both sides. Simion scored again on a tip on Power Play to make it 2-1. Then Zug managed to lock down their zone, leaving very little space to Geneva, just like in Game 1, and even created more chances than the Grenat. The defensive powerhouse of Zug was again on display at the best time of the season. Looking at the Shots map below, never Geneva was able to get close of Genoni even if their season was already on the line.
In this third period : 0.44 Expected Goal (xG) for Geneva, 0.58xG for Zug.
In numbers
If Geneva was slightly ahead in terms of shot attempts (49 to 44), they were pretty far behind in terms of quality of chances, on both the power-play and at 5v5. With 3.15xG to 1.30xG, historically, Zug had an 82% chances of winning the game, the maximum odd possible for the away team.
If Geneva’s PK had already suffered during Game 1, escaping without allowing a goal, it caved in tonight. On MySports, Kevin Oulevey, video coach for GSHC, talked about their PK after the second period.
Looking at the Game Flow below, how Zug was able to make a difference during the second period is impressive.
Looking closer at the chances created, Zug was also able to generate more danger through different types of play: walk-in (carrying the puck inside the slot), high-danger passes, rushes and the only rebound of the game.
In transition
Another game where zone exits were pretty easy on both sides. Both teams didn’t forecheck hard (or smartly) and were waiting in the neutral zone.
Let’s give credit here to the level of confidence of Zug players while carrying the puck in transition. Their game plan is fueled by a freedom to try and take risks, and a roster both fast and skilled.
Like in Game 1, zone entries were tougher. Zug still used smart dump-ins to get over the Grenat wall, recovering 42% of their dumps (league average is around 25%). Geneva learnt from their mistakes and recovered 30% of theirs, improving from 5% in Game 1.
Finally, both teams tried 21 high-danger passes, with a 29% success, under the league average. Like we said a dozen times already, those defenses are tough to crack.
Genoni, again
Leonardo Genoni excelled again tonight. Even if he didn’t face a lot of shots (18 according to us), and only 1,30xG, he still saved a 0,30xG for his team. He also continued to control his saves very well. A 89% Shot control tonight means only one shot, in addition to Rod’s goal, was not controlled by Genoni. And Geneva needed a perfect shot, following a perfect sequence to beat him. Better than nothing but not very encouraging for Geneva.
Daniel Manzato still resists and can still count on his posts to save him. Zug needed two tips to score and he saved 1.15 goals tonight to keep his team in the game during the second period.
Zug depth on display
Once again, the Shore line was the less dominant but still 60% of the expected goals with them on the ice sooo..... Same for Diaz-Stadler. Kovar with 78%xG is rolling over Geneva so far Zgraggen is having quite a playoffs run for a guy that was loaned earlier
Sure, Kovar was everywhere again, even if Pat Emond was able to send him Winnik against him this time. But “secondary” players took control of the game for Zug. Martschini and Klingberg were the most active in transition. Zehnder and Albrecht were among the main contributors on xG creation. Abdelkader did well everywhere… Where Geneva needs its stars at their best, Zug can seek help from everywhere.
Well, Fehr was better than our eyes told us..... His line was the only one positive yesterday. Winnik ends at 25%xG facing Kovar most of the time. Tömmernes ends at 40%xG and the Richard was in big trouble once again.
Linus Omark helped a lot obviously. As a true “fucking playoffs player”, the Swede was the most active in transition with a 4/4 on exits, 5/8 on entries and did 4 high-danger passes, while still being the most productive shooter with 6 attempts and 0,25xG. Winnik, Vermin, Tömmernes did well but it wasn’t enough. Eric Fehr was more seen than in game 1 but not always for the right reasons as he seems to have lost his focus in this series when Geneva crucially needs a productive third line. They don’t have a choice, they need to find answers for Friday.
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Find more statistics tracked by Thibaud on his Tableau’s page here: https://public.tableau.com/profile/thibaud.chatel#!/vizhome/NLAPlayoffs2021/GameReport
Or some more statistics on NL Ice Data here: nlicedata.com