Mannheim wants to turn things around in Munich!

Pure excitement in the SAP Garden? Before the hotly anticipated playoff duel between EHC Munich and Adler Mannheim, a tip should certainly take into account that the two teams now have two long-standing traditions: for one thing, the opponents have a penchant for overtime. On the other hand, the home team has always won for years.

If the second game of the quarter-final series is anything like the playoff opener, fans of both teams should plan to allow extra time on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. It was only in overtime that Mannheim scorer Kühnhackl provided the relief with his 2-1 winning goal.

Despite the resulting series lead of the Mannheim team, EHC Munich is favored to beat the Mannheim Eagles, according to the betting odds. Will the four-time champions continue their long home winning streak against Mannheim at home, even without top scorer Chris DeSousa?

EHC Munich – Statistics & current form

As already hinted at in game one of the quarter-final series, on paper everything is set for a close contest against Mannheim: Munich finished the regular season just three points behind the fourth-placed Eagles in fifth place and only just lost 2-1 in overtime in the series opener.

Moreover, Mannheim did not impress with any notable away-from-home strength during the season, nor did the Red Bulls regularly manage to pull out all the stops at home. So why is EHC Munich still considered the favorite against the Mannheim Eagles with odds of 1.65 on the two-way market for the second match in the quarterfinals?

Does Munich play better at home than in Mannheim?

As with the first playoff game, the devil is in the details: on the one hand, Munich simply shines with high individual quality and remarkable depth. On the other hand, despite the game being evenly poised, there were several areas in the quarter-final opener in which the team of championship coach Don Jackson exuded a certain dominance.

Whether the 37 shots on target (14 more than Mannheim) can be considered a success given the lack of goal scoring is certainly debatable. What is impressive, however, is that the Red Bulls controlled the puck for a whopping 21:28 minutes and were on the push for 7:07 minutes longer than the Eagles.

Munich continued to execute their game plan from the main round seamlessly: no other team secured as much average puck possession in the regular season as the four-time champions from the Bavarian capital.

If you want to consider the odds for betting on the winner of EHC Munich’s second quarter-final game against Adler Mannheim, you should not ignore one person: the Red Bulls’ top scorer, Chris DeSousa, who is still suspended, will be absent again at home before the 34-year-old is allowed back on the ice in game three.

Adler Mannheim – Statistics & current form

While acknowledging the small but significant advantages that EHC Munich has at home, it should not be forgotten that the playoff opener developed into a hard-fought duel on equal terms for a reason. Despite the EHC Munich vs. Adler Mannheim betting odds, which imply that the guests are outsiders, Mannheim coach Dallas Eakins describes the first match aptly: “It was a close game and it absolutely came down to the little things. In 50 such games, 25 would go to Munich and 25 to us.”

Besides the decisive details at the center of the action, the 2-1 overtime victory was above all a duel of goalies. Arno Tiefensee, third-best goalie in the DEL regular season, made a save percentage of almost 97.30 percent, allowing only a single shot on goal by Munich out of 37.

It’s no surprise that the bookmakers are once again expecting a game with an below-average number of goals. With quotes of 2.10, Winamax pays out more than double the stake if bets on more than 5.5 goals are confirmed. Incidentally, a Winamax payout via PayPal is also easily possible in the event of a win.

Will the Adler Mannheim special teams show a different face?

With their hair-raising opening victory, the foundation has been laid for a possible semi-final spot. However, if the Eagles want to win the best-of-seven series, which is still completely open, they will have to overcome an important offensive hurdle against the Red Bulls: the Mannheim team has not managed to score a goal in 25 minutes with a power play in the last eleven power plays.

Of course, it should be noted that EHC Munich already impressed in the regular season with the best penalty-kill in the German Ice Hockey League (success rate: 81.88 percent). Nevertheless, Mannheim, who are still the fourth-best power play team in the DEL (23.64 percent), should come up with something against the home side’s penalty-killing on Wednesday evening.

The Eagles also failed to convert any of their three power-play opportunities in the playoff opener. At the same time, goalie Tiefensee had to pick the puck out of the net after conceding a power-play goal. Will Mannheim’s special teams perform better this time?

EHC Munich – Adler Mannheim direct comparison / H2H record

The previous victory record is just as close as the first quarter-final game: with their latest triumph, the Eagles are now just ahead with 37:36 wins.

Interestingly, the playoff duels between the two squabblers seem to be predestined for overtime nailbiters: of a total of eleven meetings in the playoffs, the most recent home victory for the Mannheim team was already the fourth overtime game. Both teams celebrated two overtime successes each time.

Although the EHC Munich vs. Adler Mannheim prediction of the bookies tends towards a regular triumph for the home side, it could be another long evening of ice hockey on Wednesday!

EHC Munich – Adler Mannheim betting tip

One thing is for sure: the signs point to another nerve-wracking playoff match. Both teams know their strengths, but despite offensive danger, they are not without problem areas in attack.

Munich urgently needs to work on its conversion rate to find a remedy against goalkeeper Arno Tiefensee. Mannheim was more efficient in the quarter-final opener, but is currently experiencing a power play drought against the Red Bulls, which it also needs to overcome.

It is interesting to note that the home team has always won in the duels between Bavaria and the city of squares for more than three years. Nevertheless, I am betting on a turnaround. In the regular season and in the playoff opener, there were not enough reasons to justify the home side’s probability of winning over 60 percent, as implied by the current betting odds.

Instead, I expect another close match in which the chances of winning are evenly distributed. Accordingly, for the playoff game EHC Munich vs. Adler Mannheim, our DEL betting tip is for an unexpected away win. Value. Oddset has odds of 2.15 for a Mannheim win in the two-way market, which includes potential overtime.