In a nailbiter to the very end, the Ontario Reign came away with a game three victory and a sweep of the Abbotsford Canucks in round two of the Calder Cup playoffs.
The first period looked very concerning for the Reign, with the Canucks having seemingly made the necessary adjustments to their game.
Abbotsford started this game looking to create offense with their forecheck, creating chaos deep into their offensive zone, giving them some good chances.
The opening goal of the game came from Aatu Raty. Chase Wouters forced a turnover on the forecheck, feeding Raty wide open out in front for the goal.
It was the Canucks’ first lead in the entire series up to this point, a testament to the Reign’s defense and Erik Portillo’s goaltending.
Abbotsford would follow up with another goal, scored by Christian Wolanin. During a four-on-four, Wolanin took the puck into the offensive zone, dangled around a couple Reign defenders, and snuck the puck through Portillo’s five-hole.
This start to the game was stunning to say the least, and it would carry over into the second period.
For the first half of the second period, it was much of the same. Abbotsford was creating offense on the forecheck, and the Reign looked surprised by it.
In a weird sequence of events, the Reign, who looked to be flat for the first 28 minutes, rattled off three goals in one minute and twenty-one seconds.
Samuel Fagemo got the party started. With 11:01 left to play in the second period, he re-directed a shot from Joe Hicketts, going over the shoulder of Zach Sawchenko and into the roof of the net.
Then 27 seconds later, Hudon scored off a three-on-two rush chance, tying the game at two a piece.
Another 44 seconds went by before Taylor Ward scored on a rebound try. Three different goals, three different skaters, three different lines. In a blink of an eye, the Reign had the lead.
Ontario’s lead would not last long, as Marc Gatcomb tied the game with a wrist shot from the left circle while on a two-on-one rush.
With 2:29 left to play in the middle frame, Andre Lee turned in one of the better goals we have seen all year, bringing the puck into the zone, wrapping around the net, then firing a shot from the bottom of the left circle that got past Sawchenko’s short side.
The third period saw no goals, a tight defensive period got it done for the Reign, sweeping the Abbotsford Canucks in three games.
Here are my three takeaways from the game
Second Period Magic:
A key narrative throughout this postseason is how the Reign are dominating in specifically the 2nd period.
That remains true in this game, tallying four goals in the middle frame.
In game one of the series, when asked about continued success in the second period, Reign head coach Marco Sturm hammered the point of being consistent. Wearing teams down, playing physical, leading to better play in the second and third periods.
Ontario notoriously have started slow all season, and even though they are undefeated so far to start the playoffs, that has not really changed.
Outside of game two of this series, the Reign have started fairly slow offensively in every other playoff game.
It was different in this game, though, because they went down two goals in the first, and seemed to be down and out.
Sturm believed that Fagemo’s goal was the turning point in this game, and that goal helped the rest of the team “breathe again.”
It sure did something to the team, as the rapid fire Reign scored two more times in the next minute and twenty-one seconds.
The Reign have now outscored their opponents 10-1 in the second period during this playoff run, unbelievable.
Andre Lee:
If you had Andre Lee being one of the main scorers during this playoff run on your bingo card, we should go to Vegas together.
Lee has exceeded expectations this postseason, and has been a huge contributor to the Reign’s winning ways.
He now has three goals, and should officially be on the Kings radar during training camp next season.
For someone as big as Lee, he moves extremely well, and has great puck skills to go with his movement.
He is dangerous on the forecheck and plays great on the back end, I believe the Kings should give him a legitimate look.
Additionally, it seems like since coming back from his leg injury that had him sidelined for a couple months, he has made guys like Helenius and Ward that much better.
Power Play Still A Concern:
The Reign have obviously been playing exceptionally well, but there is always room for improvement.
When it comes to this team, the power play this postseason has been a large gaping hole.
In the third round, whether it is the Calgary Wranglers or the Coachella Valley Firebirds, the Reign will need to step it up on the man advantage.
They went 0-5 this game, and are 3-23 while on the power play this postseason. To put it simply, that will not fly in the next round.
Fortunately, excellent goaltending and five-on-five play is what’s getting this team through. Is it sustainable to win purely off that? Probably not.
Fagemo scoring his first of the playoffs is huge for his morale. He got unlucky on a couple shots in game two, and this should get him going for the duration of this run.
Now the Reign will wait until the end of the Wranglers-Firebirds series, which currently sits 2-1 in favor of the Firebirds.