Richard van Servette is the man of the play-offs

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You don’t even have to look at the scoresheet to see who has been the big character of this play-off so far. No one is as present as Tanner Richard, who celebrated his 30th birthday on Thursday with victory in Zug (3:2 aet).

“When I was little I wanted Pokémon cards for my birthday,” he says. “Now I’m a grown man and I want to win playoff games. This is the first win of my career on my birthday.” It could have been a “terrible birthday” as Richard admits. In extra time, he hugs Sven Senteler (30) from behind and has to worry about the penalty area. “But the guys did a perfect job.” Richard mischievously asked after the game if the penalty really should be blown against him. Yes you had to.

Moments later, Servette benefits from a mistake by Christian Djoos (28). Richard shows his class. Backhand he plays the cross pass over a stick, with which Marc-Antoine Pouliot (37) scores the winning goal.

In the quarterfinal against Lugano, the Swiss-Canadian duo pulled a notch at Lugano in extra time.

In the series against the Ticino, the loose-mouthed man had deliberately drawn attention to himself, messed with the Ticino players and supporters (“In Lugano, the fans act like circus animals”) and talked nonsense.

“Zug is a dangerous team”

The son of Rappi and ZSC legend Mike Richard (56) likes to take on the role of provocateur, you can feel that. When the pressure rises and it gets hot, he’s in his element. He throws himself into duels with the knife between his teeth, and in his zeal he sometimes clears out a teammate.

He plays sugary sweet passes, such as Vincent Praplan (28) who only has to push over the line to make it 1-1 in the first semi-final. And as he cheers, he shows that he likes to be the center of attention. He nods several times as if to say yes, I played that pass.

And Richard dominates in the confrontations. So far he has won 57 percent of the matches. It is now paying off that he worked extensively on faceoff technique and timing during his time in the AHL to get a chance in the NHL at Tampa Bay, where he made three picks.

By the way, Richard also books. He is the top scorer in the playoffs with 11 points. Since returning from North America in 2017, his production in the playoffs (0.92 points per game) is higher than in qualifiers (0.68). While others are holed up in the playoffs, “Richard the Lionheart” is just beginning to blossom.

One more victory is missing to reach the final. On Saturday, Geneva has its first of three match pucks. “We just have to keep playing our game,” says Richard. “The people of Zug will give everything. Last year they made up a 3-0 deficit in the final. It’s a dangerous team.”

Source : Blick