There are the obvious statistics like home (1st) and away (3rd) standings, goals scored (2nd in GF per game) and goals against (1st in GA per game). These numbers show that Zug is a team that is dangerous and one of the league’s best night in und night out. There are also other numbers that reveal a bit more about the team’s performances and might serve as an indicator of whether this level of performance is sustainable.
Strong third periods
First of all, this year’s team is playing very consistently. Last weekend’s losses were only the second time this season that Zug lost back-to-back games in regulation. Overall, the Bulls have never lost more than two games in a row. Striking is the domination in the third period during which Zug makes the difference and can often turn games around. They outscore their opponents in the final period 59-29, a clear improvement compared to the first (36-34) and second (43-33) periods. An explanation for this strong finish lies in the fitness and the fact that Coach Kreis splits time on ice relatively evenly among the four lines. This way, the legs of all players are still fresh entering the last 20 minutes. The balanced scoring along the top-nine forwards marks a huge difference to former seasons where the dependence on the top-two lines was much more pronounced. This might be a huge advantage come post-season compared to last season where the offensive production between the top-six and the bottom-six dropped off considerably.
Historic defensive record
Another significant improvement can be seen in the defensive performances. Zug is on pace for their best defensive record in club history. There are many reasons that have contributed to this development. Tobias Stephan has stolen many games for Zug and plays arguably his best season for the team. The defensive corps is as deep as it has been for years. Diaz, Grossmann, Helbling and Schlumpf all play regularly for the Swiss national team and have participated in a world championship in the last three years. Whereas Diaz plays a more consistent and solid two-way-game than the more offensive-minded Sondell, Helbling has been able to fill the void left by Tim Ramholt. Alatalo, Schlumpf and Morant have all raised their game and round out a very solid top-six. The defense is not only physically robust, but can move the puck smoothly and efficiently, which leads to reduction of playing time in the own zone and quick transition. Another reason are the depth and strength down the middle with three two-way-imports (see last week’s blog entry). This also shows in the faceoff circle where the Bulls trail only Bern, and the league’s second-best penalty killing. Finally, in the third season, there seems to be more familiarity with Coach Kreis’s system that is focused on a more defense-first approach as compared to his predecessor Shedden’s run-and-gun philosophy.
Dominating shot-battles
So Zug looks as defensively solid as rarely before, but not at the expense of offensive production. The strong offensive output is even more impressive in view of the modest power-play which ranks only 8th. The saying that solid defense leads to offense, or rather that dominance on the offensive side of the game leads to less time spent in the own zone, seems to apply to Zug. They lead the shot statistics with 36.30 shots on goal per game, which indicates that the offensive production might be no fluke but a result of consistently dominant play.
What about the post-season?
The numbers prove that Zug is clearly an elite team but the true test of time will come in the play-offs and this has been a source of much frustration in the last couple of years. Lack of production and discipline, the disappearance of key-players, mental fragility, inconsistency, and injuries have all played parts in the premature failures. Will history repeat itself this season or is everything going to be different and Zug will ride some momentum into the post-season, build on their historic regular season and win its first home games and series in the post-season under Harold Kreis?
