Is Augsburg slipping into a crisis in the relegation battle?
The league leaders welcome the tormented bottom team. In view of the constantly changing balance of power and regular surprise victories in the DEL, it is almost surprising that the betting odds actually reflect the situation in the table.
Augsburger could hardly have been faced with a more thankless task to start the final phase of the main round. Former bottom-of-the-table Iserlohn were already allowed to start league action on Tuesday and promptly handed the red lantern to the Panthers with an underdog win against the Sharks. In Berlin of all places, the visitors are now in demand to catch up with the now twelfth-placed Roosters, who are two points behind
The Lions are just one point away from Augsburg in penultimate place in the table, but, like the Panthers, will not return from the international break until Friday evening. The relegation battle in the German Ice Hockey League is as tough and exciting as ever. Will Augsburg manage to make a surprising statement against the Eisbären? The visiting underdogs will try to give the clear favorites a leg up in the Mercedes-Benz Arena on Friday from 7:30 p.m.
Eisbären Berlin – statistics & current form
The Eisbären went into the international break in extremely good form, but returned with a sobering performance against the Wild Wings. In the run-up to the game, the record champions were already in awe of the task of traveling to Schwenningen in one of the league’s strongest arenas at home. The Berliners’ fears were to be confirmed: Schwenningen fired from all guns blazing and made life difficult for goalie Hildebrand. Although he made numerous good saves, he was unable to prevent a deserved 3-0 home win for the dogged Wild Wings.
On the 45th matchday, neither the DEL’s most dangerous offense nor the recovery effect of the recent break was much in evidence. Check it off and move on! But not in the case of the two regular forwards Frederik Tiffels and Yannick Veilleux. Both picked up suspensions in the heated game against Schwenningen, which was characterized by many penalty minutes.
Tiffels has to sit out the next match, Veilleux even received a two-match ban. Nevertheless, the Eisbären Berlin are the clear favorites against the Augsburg Panthers according to the betting odds in the Bet3000 app. The experienced provider, which incidentally does not charge betting tax on bets, rates a two-way win for the league leaders with a probability of 76.9 percent.
Eisbären Berlin sign Schemitsch to replace defenseman Finkelstein
Despite the Eisbären’s disappointing slip-up in Schwenningen, Berlin can look back on a convincing run of form. Only two defeats in the last eight games underline the dominance of the DEL leaders. After the Blue-White-Red team had noticeable difficulties at times this season in winning at home in the Mercedes-Benz Arena, head coach Serge Aubin’s squad is now also in good form at home. Berlin have only suffered one defeat in their last five home games – also against Schwenningen.
In addition to the suspensions that the record champions have to make up for against the bottom of the table in the upcoming match, the surprising end to the career of defender Ben Finkelstein is still a topic of discussion for the Eisbären. The 26-year-old hung up his skates for personal reasons and recently left an unexpected gap in the Berlin defense. In order to close this gap, the club’s management became active on the transfer market once again in the final spurt of the season and signed the Canadian Thomas Schemitsch. Will the personnel turbulence mean that the Eisbären Berlin have to admit defeat against the Augsburg Panthers despite the predictions of the top betting providers?
Augsburger Panther – Statistics & current form
Augsburg start the final sprint of the season with no good feeling and maximum pressure. In the meantime, what the Panthers feared most has come to pass: The Iserlohn Roosters, who had been relegated for a long time, have actually managed to hand over the red lantern in the course of a red-hot race to catch up. The Augsburg Panthers are now in the dreaded relegation zone and must also return from the international break with a trip to the league leaders and record champions.
To be fair, of course, it should be noted that former bottom-of-the-table Iserlohn have already completed the 45th matchday in the DEL, while the Panthers start directly with the 46th matchday and have a catch-up game to play at the end of February. The two-point gap between Augsburg and the twelfth-placed Roosters does not tell the whole story of the current table situation.
However, it will be a mammoth task to close that gap in the Mercedes-Benz Arena of all places. Betting provider Tipwin takes a similar view and is offering odds of 1.45 for a win for the Berlin team in regulation time ahead of Eisbären Berlin’s match against the Augsburg Panthers.
Can the Augsburg Panthers count on Anrei Hakulinen against Berlin?
The Panthers’ winning record doesn’t provide much encouragement for Augsburg ahead of the upcoming David-versus-Goliath duel. Twelfth place in the DEL away table by no means suggests that the Red-Green-Whites are effective away from home. The form curve of Augsburg, who are under pressure, also leaves something to be desired. Two wins and just four points from their last five matches do not offer much scope for hope ahead of the clash with the record champions.
Nevertheless, the underdogs in Berlin have a number of personnel concerns. Long-term injury victim David Warsofsky is still out, but goalkeeper Markus Keller is now ready for action. In addition, the Panthers’ most dangerous forward is expected to return to the ice against the Polar Bears: Anrei Hakulinen, who has already scored 19 times this season, is set to lace up his skates again on Friday.
Eisbären Berlin – Augsburger Panther head-to-head comparison / H2H result
The direct comparison unsurprisingly confirms the bookmakers’ prediction ahead of the clash between the Eisbären Berlin and the Augsburger Panther. The record champions won 76 of 118 matches. The Panthers still have 42 wins to their name. Augsburg put the puck in the Berlin net 333 times. The Polar Bears were more prolific with 432 goals. The most recent H2H record is devastating: Augsburg has been waiting for a win against Berlin for eight games now
Ice Bears Berlin – Augsburg Panthers betting tip
The Panthers couldn’t have had a tougher start to the final phase of the season. Apart from the fact that Augsburg find themselves in the relegation zone due to the Roosters’ renewed triumph, the trip is to Berlin to make matters worse. Although the home side recently lost against Schwenningen without scoring a single goal, they can still justifiably be described as on form
In contrast to Augsburg, however, the Eisbären are struggling with a few personnel worries, which means that their offense, which was toothless against Schwenningen recently, is facing a challenge. Since the record champions still have a deep squad, the stumbling blocks in the personnel department are not enough to deny the Berliners the clear favorite role against the bottom of the table
The circumstances, however, make it interesting to target the increased odds for under 5.5 goals in regular time for the game Eisbären Berlin vs. Augsburger Panther.
