Ontario Reign Overwhelmed By Monsters, Down 0-3 in Series

There is a sense of “too little too late” when it comes to the Reign and how they have performed so far in this series, (it eerily reminds me of how the Los Angeles Kings played in this year’s playoffs), the Reign have allowed the Monsters to score early and often in the beginning of these games, forcing them to chase the score for the rest of the game.

There have been complaints within the kingdom that the Reign seem to be playing with a “lack of urgency” and maybe that is a correct assessment, but kudos have to be given to the Monsters for simply being the better team (so far) in this series, (sadly like how the San Jose Sharks were against the Kings). The Monsters have completely overwhelmed the Reign with their speed and hustle and they definitely do come across as the hungrier team. Players like Josh Anderson, Louis Sedmak and Oliver Bjorkstrand are having a (pardon the pun) monster of a playoff run while Markus Hannikainen has been solid and seems to be gaining momentum as these playoffs progress. It also doesn’t hurt either when you have reliable goaltending from Anton Forsberg, who made 26 saves to earn the win and the shut-out in game four. The Monsters are playing like some kind of unstoppable force (like the 2012 playoff LA Kings), and it will be extremely difficult for the Reign to bounce back and make a comeback in this series … but not impossible.

All-Star goalie Peter Budaj has to be better.  As great as he has been all season (and trust me, he has been more than great) this is the time when the Reign need him the most.  As an NHL veteran and the MVP of the team, he needs to shine in net if the Reign have any chance of surviving this 0-3 deficit.

Of course not all the blame belongs on the shoulders of Budaj though.  Star forwards Michael Mersch, Nic Dowd and Adrian Kempe need to start producing and playing a more complete 60 minute game like they had in the two previous series, (though Mersch has struggled). Plus they need to score. Not just in bunches during short periods of time but with a stronger overall balance throughout the game. Joel Lowry (not Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors or Martin Lawrence pretending to be Will Smith’s Detective Mike Lowrey from Bad Boys) …

… Andrew Crescenzi, Justin Auger and Mike Amadio need to step up more on a regular basis too.  Unlike all the other forwards, Sean Backman needs to step up period.  I am not sure if he is battling an injury of some sort but he has been missing in action (not Chuck Norris) for these entire playoffs.  His scoring sense and speed is desperately needed right now!

Captain Vincent LoVerde, Kevin Gravel, Derek Forbort and Jeff Schultz have to clamp down and take control of this defense, (with the help of some back checking forwards of course) and rookie (and recently signed) defenseman Paul LaDue needs to watch his errors, which is easier said than done of course, considering he is a rookie and has only played two AHL games so far. Making the jump from NCAA hockey to the American Hockey League is a big one, especially when he’s being thrown right into a conference final battle where the stakes are higher and the pressure is on.  LaDue has to be eased into this and he proved that after making some rookie blunders that helped the Monsters score some goals against the Reign during game three. I truly believe LaDue will eventually become a star in this game, but he’s not there yet. The Reign can’t rely on him too much at the moment.

To be fair, the Reign have kept the games close, at least in the first two games of this series but it is now very evident that that is not going to be enough to beat these Monsters from Cleveland.  The giveaways of the puck, the defensive breakdowns, the slow breakouts, the lack of consistent scoring or attacking has to end now. The Reign have no choice but to play a complete 60 minute, 200 foot game to stay in this uphill battle.

This will not be easy to accomplish but as baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over, ‘til it’s over,” and the Reign are not out of it yet.  Thanks to the Kings (and the Mike Richards led 2010 Philadelphia Flyers), we all already know that making a comeback against an 0-3 deficit is hard but it can be done.  The Reign are still the defending Calder Cup champions so there is a lot of experience and toughness in that locker room with players who know what it takes to get the job done.

So game four is today in Cleveland, at 7:00 pm eastern time, (4:00 pm pacific) and that is all the Ontario Reign have to worry about for now.  Just this one single game and with just one quality shift at a time during it. The Monsters still haven’t seen or faced the Reign at their most dangerous best and if the Reign can play their best, in like I said, a total 60 minute effort, and with Budaj or back-up goalie Michael Houser (if head coach Mike Stothers decides to switch things up for game five) holding the fort in net, then there is still a strong possibility that the tide can turn in favor of the Reign by heavily pressuring the Monsters back and have them be the ones who are completely overwhelmed for a change.  It’s time for the #ReignTrain to get back on track and start running over these pests and toss them back into that dirty “Great Lake” where they came from.

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