Eeli Tolvanen, 24, got revenge on reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado early Monday morning. Of course, even at the start of the season, Tolvase had no understanding that last spring’s 0-4 loss against Nashville at the same stage would now be offset in the ranks of the expansion team Seattle.
Tolvanen, who drifted to the sidelines in Kantrikylä and was eventually left out of the playing lineup, moved to the grunge city for free through the transfer list in November.
Now Tolvanen was starting by Oliver Björkstrand completed, a 2–1 hit that ended up as the winning goal, with which Colorado’s season was given the final seal.
– I guess this feels amazing. If someone had come and told me while I was sitting in Nashville in a blanket that we would be playing in the second round in the spring in a Seattle jersey, I would have gladly accepted it. It feels great that I have found a place in the team and have been able to play a lot from night to night, Tolvanen tastes his freshness to Urheilu.
Tip chain in pliers
Tolvanen has really got to play – in the playoffs to an even greater extent.
Profiled as an excellent brake chain man Yanni Gourden in vitja, Tolvanen’s playing time has even increased from the regular season’s 15 minutes to 17 minutes per match, because the main task of the trio in the Colorado series was to stop the opponent’s hot number one chain.
This in itself is a story for Tolvanen. That is, how the goal-scoring type known purely for his shots has drifted into the workhorse of a triple chain that overshadows the world’s most dangerous attacking trio.
– We played a really good series as a chain and I also succeeded. We had a big responsibility to play against the top chain and we managed to keep the guys hidden quite well. At the other end, we had even more places, Tolvanen scored 1+2 times in the series.
The trio really succeeded.
Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar in front, of course, they often took the focus of the game to the Seattle area, and Tolvanen’s chain lost the shots 5-for-5 35-50 and its expected goal distribution was 47 percent, but it was sharp in the most important area.
Björkstrand-Gourde-Tolvanen won 58 percent of the goals in the first sector, and the goals in its shift were recorded 5–3. At least during this chain, Colorado’s number one didn’t get to celebrate.
– Our role was now defensive and those things were handled with style. They managed to tire out their top players very well.
The solution of the match series was summed up in this.
During the seven games, Colorado did not get a single hit from behind the first and second chains, or even from the second chain practically at all. You couldn’t ask for more from Rantase and MacKinnon, who operated with a terrible load throughout the season, but you could have from others.
On the other hand, it is also not appropriate to forget that injuries and various absences took a big toll on Colorado’s lineup during the series.
– The scope won this series for us. It felt like the opponent’s top chain scored all the goals, but we were well beaten the whole series with four chains. This Colorado relied on MacKinnon, Rantanen and Makari quite a lot, Tolvanen said.
Nine players from Colorado scored goals and twelve scored points in the playoffs. Seattle’s respective readings were fifteen and eighteen.
When still Seattle’s goaltender Philip Grubauer played the game of his life on Monday, Colorado’s fate was sealed.
– Everything started from the first match. The whole first period was crushed when they finished, and I immediately got the feeling that if we play like this and if we can fight and fight like this in their head, this can turn on us.
The resistance is getting stronger
Seattle doesn’t have time to savor the victory for very long, as the second-round match series against Dallas starts early Wednesday morning – and away from home.
– Now there will be a quite different series. They have four good chains, big guys and a good goalkeeper. Dallas isn’t so much on the cutting edge, though Roope Hintz and Miro Heiskanen they are having a great spring, Tolvanen opens.
At least Tolvanen’s chain now has experience in how to slow down elite players.
– Now let’s see who gets what responsibility, Tolvanen laughs.
At least there is no lack of faith from the Kraken group.
– Now the reigning champion has been defeated in the first round and the feeling in the team is of course good, we believe in ourselves. Of course, let’s now go to win the next round as well.
STATS: NHL.com, Natural Stat Trick