Holst on game three: "The KAC is 60:40 favourite"

"The first game was a bit of a surprise for me: after the long break, the KAC were well on their way, there was no sign of rust. Both teams played with great intensity. I think there were 76 checks - and everyone finished. Even though there weren't many good scoring chances, it was a strong game from both teams," said Greg Holst, summarising Salzburg's 1:0 win after overtime in game one.

As a result, the small advantage that Holst saw for the KAC was immediately gone. Before game two in Salzburg, he felt the teams were on an equal footing: "It was 50:50 - and then Salzburg got off to a great start. But they didn't manage to score a second goal. When the KAC equalised, everything changed. Then you saw the class of Klagenfurt: when they have opportunities, they can score goals. In addition, Salzburg's powerplay wasn't good enough: if we exclude the late Raffl goal, they only scored one goal from six powerplays - not enough. But compliments also to Klagenfurt's penalty killing."

"Becoming more of a complete player"
Lukas Haudum is currently playing his best season in terms of points for the EC-KAC: The 26-year-old has already collected 50 points, with five goals and nine assists he is also Klagenfurt's top scorer in the playoffs - and for Greg Holst the best player on the ice, and not just since his brace on Sunday. "Lukas Haudum has undergone an incredible development in recent years. If he wants to, he might be the best player in this league - and he wants to. His game has become much more direct, he's going much more towards the goal. That wouldn't have been the case two years ago. He is becoming more of a complete player. He's also matured mentally: In the first final game, he had two turnovers in the power play that could have been dangerous - but he put that behind him and showed a great comeback on Sunday."

Haudum is currently the "key in this series for Holst. They have to watch out for him. When he has space and room, he's a real threat." How can Salzburg actually stop him? Holst draws on his coaching repertoire: "You can challenge them with a 'game within the game', for example. You have to say to Peter Schneider: Can you play as well as Lukas Haudum? And that applies to every single position. That's how you motivate your players."

"Big boys first"
In game three, it will come down to the "big boys": Haudum and Salzburg's line around Thomas Raffl and Peter Schneider will need to step up, according to Holst. "The KAC are 60:40 favourites. First and foremost, the key players have to perform, but the players on the third or fourth line - such as Huber (RBS) or Kraus (KAC) - could also make a difference. Salzburg also needs a better performance in the power play: they had no recipe against Klagenfurt on Sunday. The puck has to get to the goal faster, there was always too much time."

Final game three will take place on Tuesday, 9 April. PULS 24 and Joyn will broadcast the match live and exclusively from 7.05 pm.