GDT: Group B - May 4 - Germany vs Denmark

[stv11]

2018 IIHF World Championship
Group B

May 4
2:15 PM ET • 8:15 PM CET

Germany vs Denmark

Germany
Confirmed lineup

Goaltenders:
51 Timo Pielmeier
31 Niklas Treutle

Defensemen:
5 Korbinian Holzer - 24 Dennis Seidenberg
36 Yannick Seidenberg - 91 Moritz Müller
41 Jonas Müller - 40 Björn Krupp
67 Bernhard Ebner

Forwards:
42 Yasin Ehliz - 29 Leon Draisaitl - 22 Matthias Plachta
50 Patrick Hager - 72 Dominik Kahun - 59 Manuel Wiederer
92 Marcel Noebels - 86 Daniel Pietta - 21 Nicolas Krammer
65 Marc Michaelis - 95 Frederik Tiffels - 58 Markus Eisenschmid
27 Sebastian Uvira


Denmark
Confirmed lineup

Goaltenders:
31 Frederik Andersen
32 Sebastian Dahm

Defensemen:
6 Stefan Lassen - 36 Philip Larsen
41 Jesper Jensen Aabo - 25 Oliver Lauridsen
48 Nicholas Jensen - 5 Daniel Nielsen
28 Emil Kristensen

Forwards:
27 Oliver Bjorkstrand - 93 Peter Regin - 17 Nicklas Jensen
43 Nicklas Hardt - 51 Frans Nielsen - 9 Frederik Storm
12 Mads Christensen - 33 Julian Jakobsen - 29 Morten Madsen
50 Mathias Bau - 40 Jesper Jensen - 63 Patrick Russell


​

Click to read more...

 

[Mestaruus]

Germany has to be the the favorite in this one. Should be a good match.

 

[admire]

Im so hyped! Finally its almost here...wc on danish soil...
We really need this victory to create a wave of optimism before 3 very difficult to win games...

I see it as an even match especially with the home crowd.

 

[theslatcher]

Could go either way, pretty much the game to decide which out of the two will go to the QFs. Winner comes down to if you believe in Andersen or Drai.

 

[BoundforPetersburg]

Pielmeier to start for Germany?

 

[Retroglyphs]

Pielmeier to start for Germany?

Yes, pretty sure about that.
I predict a 4:2 win for Denmark. Let's hope I'm wrong.

 

[Mestaruus]

Im so hyped! Finally its almost here...wc on danish soil...
We really need this victory to create a wave of optimism before 3 very difficult to win games...

I see it as an even match especially with the home crowd.

Germany might bring a lot of fans over the border as well. Olympic success created some hype there and then they might want to see their superstar Draisaitl live as well. So Germany might be like a second home team.

 

[Mestaruus]

Could go either way, pretty much the game to decide which out of the two will go to the QFs. Winner comes down to if you believe in Andersen or Drai.

Too early to say. If Denmark would win this, they could lose to Latvia or Norway.

 

[Retroglyphs]

[

Germany might bring a lot of fans over the border as well. Olympic success created some hype there and then they might want to see their superstar Draisaitl live as well. So Germany might be like a second home team.

Oh, for sure. Our fans will take over this place tomorrow. Danish fans will be outnumbered & drowned out.

 

[ThaiTanicDK]

Germany has to be the the favorite in this one. Should be a good match.

Uhm how so? Germany has 9 players this tournament that never even played at a worlds... If anything this one is 50-50. Maybe 55 to DK for having home field advantage.

Marcel Goc, Christian Ehrhoff and Patrick Reimer retired and several others from the Olympic games declined. While its true they got 3 NHLers, Denmark has three too one of them being a top 10 goalie. If we combine NHL and KHL Denmark wins by 3 players.

 

[Mestaruus]

Uhm how so? Germany has 9 players this tournament that never even played at a worlds... If anything this one is 50-50. Maybe 55 to DK for having home field advantage.

Marcel Goc, Christian Ehrhoff and Patrick Reimer retired and several others from the Olympic games declined. While its true they got 3 NHLers, Denmark has three too one of them being a top 10 goalie. If we combine NHL and KHL Denmark wins by 3 players.

That's my initial feeling about the match. What brought GER to the Olympic silver, big credit goes to their coach and that the players believe in him. That's what ultimately makes me think that GER is the favorite even if few players didn't join. If Draisaitl has as good match as I believe he will have, then GER is the favorite.

NHL starter goalie and being home team are advantages for Denmark and their roster seems good, so we'll see. It will be interesting how many Germans come to the stadium as Germany is rather close to DEN. The home team advantage might not be so significant in this case if a lot of German fans come over.

 

[Retroglyphs]

Uhm how so? Germany has 9 players this tournament that never even played at a worlds... If anything this one is 50-50. Maybe 55 to DK for having home field advantage.

Marcel Goc, Christian Ehrhoff and Patrick Reimer retired and several others from the Olympic games declined. While its true they got 3 NHLers, Denmark has three too one of them being a top 10 goalie. If we combine NHL and KHL Denmark wins by 3 players.

True. All in all, Denmark's excellent wings (O.Bjørkstrand-N.Jensen-F.Storm-M.Christensen) and the top goaltender F.Andersen give this team an edge.
While no present Danish centre is as good as Draisaitl, both teams are generally strong at centre, with Germany maybe having a slight edge at the moment because of Kahun+Hager.
The German defense though is distinctively better than Denmark's.

 

[Retroglyphs]

That's my initial feeling about the match. What brought GER to the Olympic silver, big credit goes to their coach and that the players believe in him. That's what ultimately makes me think that GER is the favorite even if few players didn't join. If Draisaitl has as good match as I believe he will have, then GER is the favorite.

NHL starter goalie and being home team are advantages for Denmark and their roster seems good, so we'll see. It will be interesting how many Germans come to the stadium as Germany is rather close to DEN. The home team advantage might not be so significant in this case if a lot of German fans come over.

I'd be more confident, if some good wings like Pföderl, Reimer, Macek, Kink and Schütz, and our goalie Aus den Birken were on the team.
Other than Ehliz, Noebels and Plachta, we have none of our olympic wings left on the team. So, each of the first three lines has to be filled with one unexperienced guy, and we haven't even been talking about the 4th line.

 

[Bagge]

Uhm how so? Germany has 9 players this tournament that never even played at a worlds... If anything this one is 50-50. Maybe 55 to DK for having home field advantage.

Marcel Goc, Christian Ehrhoff and Patrick Reimer retired and several others from the Olympic games declined. While its true they got 3 NHLers, Denmark has three too one of them being a top 10 goalie. If we combine NHL and KHL Denmark wins by 3 players.

By that logic Denmark should have been in the Olympics this winter....this is going to be an even game in my opinion.

 

[danishdynamite]

Too early to say. If Denmark would win this, they could lose to Latvia or Norway.

I don't think Denmark or Germany are going to lose to Norway or Latvia (or Korea). The norwegian team is as weak as ever. Latvia could upset, but I wouldn't count on it.

 

[Eye of Ra]

Germany has to be the the favorite in this one. Should be a good match.

What. Denmark has the better team on paper and have home advantage.

 

[Eye of Ra]

True. All in all, Denmark's excellent wings (O.Bjørkstrand-N.Jensen-F.Storm-M.Christensen) and the top goaltender F.Andersen give this team an edge.
While no present Danish centre is as good as Draisaitl, both teams are strong at centre, with Germany maybe having a slight edge because of Kahun+Hager.
The German defense though is distinctively better than Denmark's.

Larsen, lauridsen, jensen is khlers. Lassen and kristensen is liiga. Germany defence is del quality outside of seidenberg.

 

[Valdemar]

I see this as an even game, when it could come down to puck-luck to get a winner. But as others have said is this a very important game for both teams, because they are both candidates to the last quarter final ticket, as I expect that Canada, USA and Finland to take the other 3 without much problems.

 

[kabidjan18]

Larsen, lauridsen, jensen is khlers. Lassen and kristensen is liiga. Germany defence is del quality outside of seidenberg.

I don't mind some factoring of leagues into player ratings and comparisons, but this is utterly senseless.

A player doesn't improve qualitatively simply because he changed the league he played in. You could say "yeah, the german defence is missing a lot of it's best athletes." Or you could say "Denmark has a good combination of shut down defensemen and puck-moving defensemen."

And I'll admit, I'm occasionally guilty of this as well. "So and so plays in such and such league so he must be how good." But here's you're literally lumping people into categories by their leagues and ranking them by their league rankings. That's bizarre.

 

[Retroglyphs]

Larsen, lauridsen, jensen is khlers. Lassen and kristensen is liiga. Germany defence is del quality outside of seidenberg.

I think you cannot break it down like this (btw. generously omitting that Holzer plays NHL as well), and then expect to know something about the quality of a defense. You need to look at the players.
Apart from Lauridsen/Jensen-Aabo, who are extremely solid and whom Karlsson will have to rely on in all difficult situations, the Danish defense didn't strike me as WHC ready in the preparation games. Particularly Stefan Lassen looked like a security risk.
While we come up with a quartet (Y.Seidenberg-J.Müller-Mo.Müller-B.Krupp) who played really well and victorious against stronger opposition at the Olympics, plus the two NHLers, plus above-average players like Ebner & Mebus.
I'd take Yannic Seidenberg, who has performed outstandingly during the past national (DEL Playoff MVP 2017, Defender of the Year 2018) & international seasons (GWG vs. Switzerland), any day over Philip Larsen. He's as good offensively, and has more grit+leadership. Also, I cannot see any player with Jonas Müller's talent in the Danish defense... maybe you can?

 

[Namejs]

I don't think Denmark or Germany are going to lose to Norway or Latvia (or Korea). The norwegian team is as weak as ever. Latvia could upset, but I wouldn't count on it.

Calling a Danish loss to either Norway or Latvia 'an upset' shows that you might want to lower your expectations.

 

[Eye of Ra]

I think you cannot break it down like this (btw. generously omitting that Holzer plays NHL as well), and then expect to know something about the quality of a defense. You need to look at the players.
Apart from Lauridsen/Jensen-Aabo, who are extremely solid and whom Karlsson will have to rely on in all difficult situations, the Danish defense didn't strike me as WHC ready in the preparation games. Particularly Stefan Lassen looked like a security risk.
While we come up with a quartet (Y.Seidenberg-J.Müller-Mo.Müller-B.Krupp) who played really well and victorious against stronger opposition at the Olympics, plus the two NHLers, plus above-average players like Ebner & Mebus.
I'd take Yannic Seidenberg, who has performed outstandingly during the past national (DEL Playoff MVP 2017, Defender of the Year 2018) & international seasons (GWG vs. Switzerland), any day over Philip Larsen. He's as good offensively, and has more grit+leadership. Also, I cannot see any player with Jonas Müller's talent in the Danish defense... maybe you can?

philip larsen is a very good khler, i really dont think that y.seidenberg is better than him.

if germany defenders are so good why are they not playing in shl and khl ?

 

[jonas2244]

if germany defenders are so good why are they not playing in shl and khl ?

Because they have a good league at home where they can earn good money and be near their families. It's not much of a goal for German (or Swiss) players to play in the KHL. They target the NHL and if they don't succeed there they normally stay at home which does not make them a weaker hockey-player.

The story is: teams between 7 and 14 are pretty close. It's not about the quality of player because there isn't much of a difference. It's much more important how chemistry clicks and how fast the team comes together. You can have the best players and play like rubbish. And because of the small difference I wouldn't take anything for granted. Of course Norway looks weaker than before and Denmark has a good team here. But the difference ist still so small that anything can happen. Hockey isn't played on the paper, it's played on the ice. And each team playing at a World championship has something to offer and you shouldn't underestimate anyone here.

 

[Ducks76]

Because they have a good league at home where they can earn good money and be near their families. It's not much of a goal for German (or Swiss) players to play in the KHL. They target the NHL and if they don't succeed there they normally stay at home which does not make them a weaker hockey-player.

The story is: teams between 7 and 14 are pretty close. It's not about the quality of player because there isn't much of a difference. It's much more important how chemistry clicks and how fast the team comes together. You can have the best players and play like rubbish. And because of the small difference I wouldn't take anything for granted. Of course Norway looks weaker than before and Denmark has a good team here. But the difference ist still so small that anything can happen. Hockey isn't played on the paper, it's played on the ice. And each team playing at a World championship has something to offer and you shouldn't underestimate anyone here.

Despite the DEL isn t good enough! I m sure that german players could be better when they gain more experience in KHL or other better leagues in Europe. The DEL is a decent league with deficits in stick handling and tactics. The pace/skating is good!

 

[jonas2244]

They could, maybe. I was just saying that you cannot say that player X is less good than player Y because he plays in the DEL rather than in the KHL.

And as I said, the margin between all those teams (from Switzerland/Slovakia to Belarus & France) is so small that you just cannot give somebody an edge over another team here. Those are probably all 50-50 games (or 45-55) which can go on both side.