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HC Davos: Review, Guide & The Secret – How to properly use the record champions

Ice Hockey ✍️ Reto Zuberbühler 🕒 2026-04-06 20:31 🔥 Views: 1

Easter Monday, pool weather down in the lowlands – but up in Davos, it smells like battle, ice, and just a pinch of madness. If you’ve missed the last few days: HCD have their backs against the wall against the ZSC Lions – or do they? I’ve been sitting in Swiss ice hockey arenas for twenty years, and here’s what I know: this team from the Landwasser Valley has an enviable habit of only truly firing up when everyone else is already lighting the farewell candle.

HC Davos in playoff battle against ZSC Lions

Honest HC Davos Review: The opposite of panic

The first playoff game against ZSC? A cold start. Instantly reminded me of the series against Zug a few years back – we were down 0–2 then too, and in the end the Grisons boys were laughing. So if you're looking for an hc davos review that doesn’t try to sugarcoat things, you need to watch the last ten minutes of the second period. Something grew there. Suddenly those long legs got faster, the hits got louder, and in the defenders' eyes you could see that spark that only HCD has. Sure, ZSC are a machine. But machines stutter when someone pulls the plug.

A HC Davos Guide for those who aren't believers yet

You want to know how this club ticks? Then here’s your hc davos guide in three sentences:

  • The powerplay lives off Ambühl and Fora – two blokes who can magic the puck through your suspenders in their sleep.
  • The defence? Often underrated. But watch how Dahlbeck holds the blue line. It’s not showboating, it’s craft.
  • And the crowd: 3000 metres above sea level, the air is thin, but their throats are made of concrete. When that "Hopp HCD" rolls through the arena, you’ll feel it in your bones a week later.

How to use HC Davos – the art of riding the underdog

The big question before Game 2 on Easter Monday: how to use hc davos properly? The answer is almost too simple: don’t give them any respect. Zurich have had a monster run – three years without back‑to‑back losses. Respectable stat. But you know what I think of that? Nothing. Because ice hockey is when HCD wins in the end. An old friend from Eismeister‑Zaugg land once wrote that in my notebook, and he was right.

You ‘use’ HC Davos by doing exactly what they expect from you: you don’t give up on the first puck, you check with your body, not just your stick, and you don’t wait for the opponent to make a mistake – you force them into it. That’s exactly what coach Christian Wohlwend has been drilling into his squad over the last two days. The boys are ready to put pressure on ZSC’s defence where it hurts most: in the neutral zone.

Why this guide isn't a fairytale

I’ve watched the last three games live. Lost the first one, yeah. But if you only look at the scoreboard, you’re missing half the story. The shots increased, the penalties were used smarter, and the bench got louder. The recipe against ZSC is: patience, then explosion. If HCD manage to break Zurich’s tempo and exploit those long shifts, we’ll turn this thing around. I’d bet my old skates on it.

So, dear Grisons fans, and everyone who wants to become one: forget those polished TV studio analyses. Here’s the truth from the basement of the Vaillant Arena. HC Davos is alive – and on Easter Monday, we’ll see whether the Lions bite or roar.