Here is the program for the SM league finals – an expert tells where the Finnish championship will be decided | Sport

Urheilu’s expert Topi Nättinen anticipates the finals of the SM league. The final series between Tappara and Pelicans starts next Saturday.

Listen to all SM league finals live from Areena. The third final will also be broadcast live from Radio Suomi in the Ice Hockey round.

This spring, the final match series of the Ice Hockey Championship League will see a repeat of last year, when Tappara and Pelicans will play for the Finnish championship.

The teams claimed their place in the finals in the fifth semi-finals, when Tappara beat KalPa 3–1 at home on Saturday evening, and Pelicans also beat Kärpät 2–1 at home.

Urheilu’s expert ended the semi-final series, which ended with match wins 4–1 Top Nättinen deservedly included, but a little earlier than expected.

– Maybe it came as a surprise. Are the results now fully in line with the game? Maybe 4–2 would have been more deserved, but the right teams advanced to the final.

Tappara, who won the previous two championships, goes to the finals once again as the early favorite. According to Nättinen, there is no need to hide it.

– When you look at the experience that the team has. A culture of winning and simply home advantage. In the Tampere arena, the away teams have not scored too many goals.

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According to Nättinen, the Pelicans have a better chance and potential to win than last year, but for that the team has to succeed on a wider front than before.

– Generally speaking, I feel that the teams are very equal. Surely there will be few goals, but for example Aatu Jämsen: 11 games and two goals. With the responsibility he has received, it is simply not enough if you want to win the Finnish championship.

According to Nättinen, neither team has reached their best so far.

According to Nättinen, Tappara’s better playing in special situations and the exceptionally wide material shown in the playoffs also play a decisive role.

– In the Kärpät series, the Pelicans were able to take Teemu Turunen – Ville Birch tree – Jonas Kemppainen – off the chain. Now against Tappara, it doesn’t help, when they basically have all four chains able to solve situations.

The statistics show the current differences between the teams. Tappara, who won the regular season, has a total of 13 players who have scored at least five power points at the start of the final series.

At Pelicans, only five players have reached five power points, although the team has played one more playoff game in the quarter-final series against HIFK.

– Width and scope naturally favor Tappara. It’s no coincidence that even in the decisive semi-final at the last moment, when those in blackout Brother Matti Savinainen and Petri Kontiola needed help, yes Philip Granath emerged from their chain and helped them score.

The spotlight is on the goalkeepers

The goalkeepers of the final teams have been in top form in the playoffs. Having a sensational spring in goal for the Pelicans Niklas Kokko20, and an experienced Tappara guard Christian Heljanko27, have blocked pucks by a marginal margin of 0.04 percentage points.

During the season, Kokko has stopped pucks with a save percentage of 91.68 and Heljanko with a save percentage of 91.64.

– Really consistent goalkeepers. Of course, Heljango has experience and Koko has the need to achieve and the flow that carries, Nättinen estimates.

When looking at playing in special situations, Alivoima is almost identical to the final teams. Tappara has been dominant in the playoffs and throughout the season, however, significantly better.

According to Nättinen, the Lahti team’s superiority has become a crown of woe, and in the playoffs it has managed to score with a difficult 15 percent efficiency.

– You can fall into that, even though the game will be precise and you probably won’t see any superpowers or special situations.

The first match of the final series will be played next week, Saturday, April 20. The Finnish championship ends with four wins.