MLS Playoffs 2013: Dynamo dominate in the playoffs again

It was a terrible performance by Montreal in every way imaginable.

Before each game in the MLS Cup Playoffs, we ask five questions. Here’s how we thought the game answered them.

Two minutes later, Bruin notched his second goal of the match and it turned into a party for Houston. They were on their way to the conference semifinals and, they hope, their third straight MLS Cup final.

Houston Dynamo

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Given the Dynamo’s home-field advantage on Thursday night, their recent win over the Impact and Montreal’s terrible form, Houston are obvious favorites in their playoff game. Houston are going to find themselves in a world of trouble if they slip up early on, though. With both teams bringing a similar pragmatic, but impressive counter-attacking style to the table, Thursday night’s game might be one in which the first goal determines the winner.

Still, it would be unfair to call either Montreal or Houston a negative side. These teams can both play ambitious, attacking soccer when they need to, but they’re best when keeping their shape and playing on the break. They’re also not great at doing that ambitious soccer thing when the other team isn’t trying to play with them.

This Dynamo team is not.

1. Does Dominic Kinnear have any magic left? Houston has made a habit of coasting through the regular season and turning things on in the playoffs to make MLS Cups. They’ve represented the East in MLS Cup the last two years utilizing such a strategy and in 2012, it required the play-in game, just like it will this year. Normally for Kinnear’s teams, the form you see from them in the last month of the season is nothing like their postseason form. Will that be true again?