ZSC, Fribourg or Zug: how important is the qualifying victory?

Last Saturday there was almost a leadership change. The ZSC Lions had fallen behind in Langnau and Fribourg was on course for victory in the Zähringer Derby in Bern and was therefore the virtual leader. “Yes, I saw it,” Gottéron coach Christian Dubé (46) said afterwards, laughing. “It’s nice, but it doesn’t really matter.”

The Zurich team won then and is still ahead of the two remaining competitors, Friborg and Zug, in the battle for qualifying victory. But how important is the qualifying victory? “Very important,” says ZSC coach Marc Crawford (62). “In recent years, the qualifying winner has always become champion.” WHERE. Both Servette and Zug twice and before that, SCB started the play-offs as qualifying winners and then took the cup.

Crawford also celebrated his only title in Switzerland as a front runner when he became champion in his first guest appearance in Zurich in 2014. 10 of the 23 championship titles this millennium went to the best-placed team. So winning the qualification is almost half the battle.

In the final the home advantage is small

The ZSC coach experienced that the season could end quickly despite a qualifying victory when the Lions, with current NHL star Auston Matthews, lost 0-4 to SCB in the quarter-finals in 2016. The qualifying champions have been caught in the first play-off round five times since the turn of the millennium: the Lions in 2016, Bern in 2006, 08 and 09 and Lugano in 2005.

Zug coach Dan Tangnes (44), who won his championship titles as a qualifying winner in 2021 and 2022, always believed that the winner of the regular competition received too little recognition. Unlike the NHL, where there is something tangible in the form of the Presidents’ Trophy, here you just get tons of pressure, aside from the permanent home field advantage in the playoffs.

Speaking of home advantage, since 2000 the team that scored best in qualifying has won the final 12 times – but not 11 times. However, no one has yet demanded that the qualifying winner from the play-offs to the finals get more than just home rights. Unlike the play-ins, where the loser of the game between seventh and eighth gets a second chance and gets to play against the winner of the game between ninth and tenth for the final play-off spot.