CBC template on playoff Sports writing.
Headline: [Team A] must [skate/shoot/emote] better for improved results
After [insert number] games over [insert number] days, it's do or die time for the [insert team name A] and the [team name B] on [insert day], with everything on the line because they control their own destiny but they have to treat this just like any other game as everything comes down to this battle.
[Team A] is really having a hard time heading into this crucial contest, dropping its last [three/five/10,000] games, and needs to get better on its [backcheck/forecheck/backstroke] for improved results.
"It's getting a bit tough out there," said John Smith, [forward/defenceman/coach/Zamboni driver] for [Team A]. "But all we have to do is stay [positive/focused/away from all-night buffet tables] and stick to our own game, and we'll be fine."
One problem for [Team A] is their [penalty kill/power play/basic hockey skills], which has really struggled as of late. [Team A] is [insert some sort of negative statistics], which is really bad.
But the main thing that [Team A] needs to do, above all else, is [prevent traffic in front of the net/get traffic in front of the net/stop getting stuck in traffic before the game].
So with their [backs against the wall/season on the line/tee times booked], the [cute nickname for Team A] are pulling out all the stops to [survive/live to fight another day/continue to abuse the team expense account while on the road].
With that in mind, [Team A] is calling up hotshot forward Dean [Jones/Johnson/Youngblood], hailing from [small-town Canada/northern U.S./The Moon]. He's currently lighting up the [whatever league he's currently in] with [some sort of stats].
"I'm just happy to be here, happy to [contribute/help out the team/help out my bank account]," he said. "I'm not going to try and do too much, just give [100/110/infinity] per cent and see what happens."
[Insert catchy heading here]
Meanwhile, [Team B] is continuing its [magical/Cinderella/Rumpelstiltskin] run, thanks in large part to the hot play of [goalie/forward/P.A. announcer] Jim Jackson.
"I'm not doing anything [different/out of the ordinary/if you don't count carrying my entire team on my back]," he said. "And I've got [great/good/the worst] teammates around me, who are [giving their all/playing their hearts out/remind me of pylons when we're out on the ice]."
"All I'm doing is just playing within [myself/my ability/the arena during the allotted time that the game is running]."
The [cute nickname for Team B] are doing the [improbable/impossible/thing that happens almost every year] by knocking off the favourites, and might be nearing another major [upset/shocker/corporate sponsorship] with their recent play.
With everything on the line, it all comes down to this one final game that's sure to be a [classic/barnburner/blowout].
Because both teams control their own destiny in a must-win situation for all the marbles with no tomorrow and have to remember what got them here because they have a chance to do something really special and if they lose they go home.
Because in the playoffs [anything/something/absolutely nothing] can happen.
