Playoff preview: EHC Red Bull München in DEL quarter-final against Wolfsburg

Friday, 15. March 2024 | Playoff preview: EHC Red Bull München in DEL quarter-final against Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg again and again: The series preview of the play-off quarter-finalSixth playoff dance with the grizzlys// DEL - SERIES PREVIEW#FightforFive! Der EHC Red Bull München startet am Samstagabend um 19:30 Uhr gegen Wolfsburg in die Playoffs. Das Duell mit den Grizzlys hat mittlerweile Tradition – daher wissen die Red Bulls auch um die Härte des Match ups.

The looming playoff beards on most of our boys were already clearly visible at training during the week. A first sign that things are getting serious. Over the past few days, Toni Söderholm and his coaching team have been preparing their team intensively for the upcoming quarter-final series against the Grizzlys Wolfsburg.

It probably didn't take too many words. After all, we know the Lower Saxons only too well from the last few encounters. And the four close games in the last main round should have already shown where the journey is heading.

Get your tickets for the quarter-final home games against Wolfsburg here

Duel at eye level

All four matches were hard-fought and physically demanding. There were not many goalmouth scrambles, which meant there were few goals. Both teams recorded one home and one away win each.

Highlights: Grizzlys Wolfsburg vs. Red Bull München (28.12.2023)

// DEL - HIGHLIGHTS

Munich prevailed 2:1 at Oberwiesenfeld and won 3:2 in Wolfsburg. The Grizzlies claimed a 1-0 win in the Bavarian capital and won 2-0 at home.

"I'm expecting a very close series. You can see that from the games against Wolfsburg so far this season," said Mathias Niederberger in advance. "So every situation will count. We have to be mentally prepared for that," demanded our number 35.

Comparison of the special teams

That means winning duels, making checks and converting scoring chances. It's also no secret that special teams are even more important in the playoffs.

The power play worked well for both teams in the main round. With a success rate of 19.9 percent, the Red Bulls had the fourth-best power play in the DEL, while Wolfsburg even finished third in this category (20.1 percent).

In penalty-killing, on the other hand, our boys were ahead. 87 percent was the second-best figure in the league, compared to 77.6 percent for Lower Saxony (eleventh place).

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The home game against the Grizzlys in Wolfsburg

A series with tradition

This is the sixth time we have met Wolfsburg in the final round. In the 2014/15 season, the Car-City team prevailed 4:0 in the quarter-finals, and in the two years that followed, the reigning German champions turned the tables and swept the Grizzlies 4:0 in the final series both times.

There are also two semi-final series against each other in the archive. Munich won 3:0 in the best-of-five format in 2021/22, while last year the duel went all the way to game seven. The Red Bulls ultimately decided the series 4:3 in their favor. This means we'll face Wolfsburg in the playoffs for the third year in a row, having won four of the five series so far.

Close wins, Matt White back

Coach Mike Stewart's team played another strong main round and proved to be a top team, especially away from home. The bottom line was fourth place after 52 games. They lost their last two games (2:4 against Nuremberg, 6:3 in Straubing), but before that the Grizzlies won four games in a row. Both the 152 goals scored and the 145 goals conceded are mid-table figures. Wolfsburg therefore won many games by a narrow margin, which is undoubtedly a quality.

Open Locker Room: Medienvertreter in der Kabine der Red Bulls

// INTERVIEW

Andy Miele was the team's top scorer in the main round with 46 points (14 goals, 32 assists), Spencer Machacek scored 23 times. Important from the Grizzlies' point of view: Matt White is back. The offensively strong American missed around two months due to injury, but has been fit again since the beginning of March.

"We're preparing for both goals to be hard-fought. But we want to go for goal with force and play our game," Niederberger concluded. Let's go for it!

The quarter-final dates at a glance:

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Quarter-final 1: Saturday, March 16, 7:30 p.m., Eis Arena Wolfsburg

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Quarter-final 2: Tuesday, March 19, 7:30 pm, Olympia-Eisstadion (Tickets)

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Quarter-final 3: Friday, March 22, 7:30 pm, Eis Arena Wolfsburg

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Quarter-final 4: Sunday, March 24, 4:30 p.m., Olympic Ice Stadium (Tickets)

Playoff record against Wolfsburg

Wins: 15 Losses: 8 Winning percentage: 65 percent Goal ratio: 74:51 Last playoff game: RBM vs. WOB 7:2 Last ten games: S S S S S N N S S N S S Last ten away games: N N S S S S S S S N S N N