Everything you need to know about the play-off final

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The best of 7. Let’s start with the main point: the final series will be played in best-of-7 format. What does that mean? Whoever wins four games is champion. The final can be 4, 5, 6 or 7 games as the series is over when one club has won four games. The teams take turns playing at home. If the series goes the full distance, the decisive seventh game (also called Finalissima) will take place in Geneva, as Servette (1st) was classified ahead of Biel (2nd) in qualifying (52 games).

How long does a game last? Stop making plans on a playoff night. Because playoff games are an open-ended event. In principle, three thirds of the 20 minutes of effective playing time are played – the clock stops at each interruption. If there is no winner after 60 minutes, play continues until the next goal is scored, known as “sudden death”. The longest match ended in 2019 at 117 minutes of play. At that moment, Mark Arcobello shot later champions SC Bern to victory in Geneva. At 12:54 p.m. The breaks between periods are 18 minutes.

Will the matches be televised? As of this season, no more playoff games will be shown on SRF. But: all final matches can be seen on the free channels TV24, Léman Bleu and Teleticino. In addition, pay TV MySports broadcasts every National League game live.

Fingers crossed for whom? Anyone who has a penchant for Romandie supports Servette, the team from Geneva. For 50 years (La Chaux-de-Fonds) no French team has been champion. Otherwise, there are plenty of reasons to root for Biel. Above all, there is the touching fate of coach Antti Törmänen (52). Just before the playoffs, the Finn, who had to take a break during the 2020/21 season due to gallbladder cancer, was diagnosed with cancer again. In addition, the club from the bilingual city last won a title 40 years ago. And with Damien Brunner (37), the Seeländer have one of the best Swiss players who has never won a championship.

Is there a VAR? Like in football, controversial scenes are controlled through video. Even if there is no VAR in a basement in front of a large screen. Coaches may enter a Coaches Challenge if they believe a goal has been wrongly scored (goalkeeper interference, high stick, offside, hand pass) or a goal has been disallowed. The referees then review the scene on a monitor. Interesting: you hear them talk about it on TV. If they stand by their decision, the offending coach will receive a 2-minute time penalty. The referees can also consult the video when awarding a 5-minute penalty. But even if they are wrong, they cannot erase the penalty, only reduce it to 2 minutes.

The offside question. In football, offside is the horror of all amateurs. In ice hockey, it’s easier: No offensive player is allowed to be in front of the puck — that’s the name of the hard rubber disc used to play — in the offensive area, which is marked with a blue line. Because that is not always easy to recognize, it sometimes leads to hot moments at the Coaches Challenge.

Source : Blick