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NHLGamers, after a regular season for the ages and last Wednesday's ECL El Clasico in recent memory, we are now ready for the postseason, where the stakes are as high as ever and almost nothing is sacred when it comes to what you'll do to grab those required wins. There's been countless success stories written over the years and we've seen two teams reign supreme for the past few seasons, but each postseason is an equal opportunity for the eight best teams in the business, and here we are yet again. From this point on, 12 wins is all it takes to be the one to hoist the cup at the end of the season. Joining the ECL Champion's club is something every player dreams of achieving at some point of their career, so now is the time for these guys involved to step up. As the USA U20 squad put it - one barrel at a time. (1) FILADELPHIA vs Northern Ascendancy (8) TOP SCORER Erik @Eki Tammenpää (22+46=68) vs Juho @RutonMosse Kinnunen (23+26=49) GOALTENDER Casper @ICappeI Lundgren (80.11 SV%, 1.23 GAA, 12 SO) vs Ville @Supreex Korhonen (80.59 SV%, 2.43 GAA, 1 SO) So far this season, FILADELPHIA have made it clear that no one will be stopping them from reaching their third ECL title since starting their journey with the lineup (barring minor changes) as we know it back in ECL 7. A record breaking regular season (highest point total ever, most shutouts ever) puts them at the #1 seed and we all know that if anyone, these guys will be able to handle that pressure. Eki has been the teams leading scorer this season but it should be noted that finding secondary or tertiary options is no problem for the FILADELPHIA team that looks as strong as ever. Their fiercest rivalry against HAVU Gaming looked like child's play in the second last round of the regular season, where FILA dissected HAVU and walked away with two routine wins out of the normally so tough matchup. Some questions were looming before the season about whether Northern Ascendancy would be able to handle seeing a high percentage of player turnover over the offseason, but long time captain Connor @MartindalexC Martindale has been able to pull a rabbit out of his hat and push his team to their absolute maximum performance - unless they still have some tricks up their sleeve. What clouds the sky is the fact that NOR is heading into the playoffs with a cold streak, having grabbed only 3 wins and a total of 7 points out of their last ten games, albeit most of them being matches against playoff bound teams. NOR is also by far the most penalized team heading into the playoffs and can with their 15th ranking penalty kill in the league by no means afford to sit in the box against a lethal offensive team like FILADELPHIA. Prediction: An interesting dynamic to this matchup is brought by the fact that just a few months back, Eki spent the SCL with MartindalexC and his NOR, despite NOR having almost a completely different roster by now there could be some strategic takeaway from that time spent together on both sides of the puck. Statistically, the outcome in this series is very clear - Northern Ascendancy haven't beaten FILADELPHIA on ECL ice since back in ECL 7 (in 2018) when the two teams met in a similar setup in the quarterfinals. Then, the series ended 4-1 in favor of FILADELPHIA, which I believe will be the result this time too. (2) HAVU Gaming vs Roots Gaming (7) TOP SCORER Tuukka @FlyerKungen Kuha (25+50=75) vs André @Foppatofflan Liljegren (19+34=53) GOALTENDER Oskari @SibeIius Grönroos (78.2 SV%, 1.53 GAA, 7 SO) vs Kasper @Kaz_zu Ramstedt (79.87 SV%, 1.88 GAA, 2 SO) HAVU Gaming saw some changes to their roster for the first time since ECL 8, when Kristian-Mikael @Nassustelija Katajisto joined the squad, forming their well-known championship machine. The loss of Ilmari @Buantso Lehkonen stings, but at least based on what we've seen so far, Hannes @Hansulinho Kettunen has done well in filling those boots. The thing is, Puantso has always been at his best in the playoffs so now is when the real test for Hansu starts. Team captain FlyerKungen is having a career season if that's even possible for a man who's seemingly won it all, so he can definitely be counted on even this season when the going gets rough. What raises some eyebrows is the fact that in the recent HAVU-FILA regular season matchup, HAVU didn't show up to play like they use to. The games were seemingly kept close, but the eye test indicates that they were outplayed by their sweet rivals. It might just be a night off and even if they would have needed to make some fixes, they've had a weeks time to do so. Now is the time to be at their best and that is what HAVU is known for in the playoffs, bring it on, they say. Roots Gaming is "the other green team" in the Elite division, but despite being overshadowed by the HAVU powerhouse, we're talking about a definite Elite title contender who can dismantle just about any team if and when the stars align. The addition of Foppatofflan has given them an added level of creativity on offense and their quick puck movement can be tough to handle even for some better teams around. Väinö @vSilenttio Pietilä seems to be back in his prime and as we know is a vocal leader who can do good things for his team when he plays like he has been so far this season. When going up against a team like HAVU, it's always highly doubtful for the underdog to walk away victorious, but IF Roots were to do so, now is their time. Prediction: The black and green battle rages hard in this one and despite looking out of focus from time to time in the regular season, HAVU will be coming to play in the postseason as always. Roots is one of the few teams that managed to beat HAVU in the regular season, but wins against a team of HAVU's caliber come few and far between even for your regular ECL Elite squad. Roots are looking better than ever this season and that is why they will manage to challenge HAVU, but the defending champions will march on, 4-2 for HAVU. (3) hREDS vs Vesa Pompa (6) TOP SCORER Joakim @Joukki Nyholm (32+46=78) vs Jere @jergelii Jortama (20+20=40) GOALTENDER Mika @FinKonna Paasikontu (78.6 SV%, 1.73 GAA, 7 SO) vs Filip @Faze91- Azri (80.32 SV%, 2.03 GAA, 3 SO) It's been said multiple times and should be stressed ahead of every time hREDS take the ice. They are possibly the most skilled team out there at the moment. The offensive power that the squad possesses is nearly unmatched at the moment and with that Joukki managed to grab the regular season scoring title with a stunning 78 points to his name and beside him, Perttu @Beniittto Kemppainen tied for most assists ever (55) in a regular season whereas Tuukka @Tuukka.R Röpelinen set a new goal scoring high for defensemen in the regular season (16). It is clear that hREDS will be able to outscore just about any opponent in the league, but the difference in them compared to champions like FILADELPHIA and HAVU Gaming in their prime is defensive play. If hREDS wishes to win - which I believe they can - they will need to find a way to tighten up defensively without sacrificing their number one weapon, which is their lethal offense. Vesa Pompa were one of the most underestimated teams in our season preview, but it has turned out that has indeed gelled nicely and been able to perform at a high level - as their talent packed roster would suggest. The team, being led in scoring by Finnish imports jergeli and Vili @Vilupoika Häkkinen of former Butterfly Effect fame has aptly been able to climb into playoff contention in just their second season at the Elite level. Vesa Pompa has seen a lot of turnover over the years with the constant being captain Johan @Lehmannens Lehmann and winger Henrik @Eken45jr Eklund, who despite being widely considered as one of the most talented young players around is yet to truly make his claim as one of the very top players in the division. Maybe this playoff run is his time to shine? Prediction: It will be a warm reunion to start the series between former Butterfly Effect forward trio Niklas @NikkeDangles Tukiainen on the hREDS side, whereas Jergeli and Vilupoika will be representing Vesa Pompa. The trio has been apart on ECL ice since ECL 9, when they last wreaked havoc on the division in the old purple jerseys. The difference in this series will most likely be experience in playing together. There is no doubt in the world that Vesa Pompa wouldn't possess the skill to beat hREDS, but due to the fact that hREDS have so much more time together, they will win this series 4-1. (4) Farjestad BK vs JYP Jyvaskyla (5) TOP SCORER Christoffer @I-Maise-I Berntsson (17+30=47) vs Antti @tbnantti Kuittinen (20+35=55) GOALTENDER Johan @McSavid Rundqvist (83.09 SV%, 1.9 GAA, 3 SO) vs Santeri @Sandr0hh Reijasalo (82.07 SV%, 2.06 GAA, 2 SO) Since last ECL, Farjestad BK has turned their roster into an all-Swedish machine and are currently the lone Elite team flying that flag proudly. We're all very familiar with their style of play, but especially with the addition of Anton @antoniomannen004 Svensander on the right wing the team has managed to diversify their game and give themselves more of a puck possession option whenever that might be required. Compared to the FBK we saw back in ECL 10, this team is considerably stronger defensively while being able to maintain their danger on offense, which could partially be attributed to good signings, but also simply due to evolving their play and finding better situational awareness in seemingly trivial situations on the ice. The worrysome part for them is that Andreas @affelj96 Ljungberg is their number one option and has scored over 40% of the goals for his team this season. Secondary scoring surely exists but it will be interesting to see whether they need to find it or not in this series. Last season has surely not been forgotten in the JYP camp. Their roster has seen some minor, but very meaningful turnover as mainly Kristian @kriketski17 Veijola suddenly left prior to the season, and was swiftly replaced by equally talented young gun Valtteri @Vattu__ Virtanen. The thing is, though, that Kriketski is an incredibly impactful player on the ice - most of the times for good, but sometimes for bad. Losing such a player has forced JYP to evolve, just alike their opponent and despite being outplayed in the playoffs last season, this time will surely look a lot different. JYP is boasting one of the most skilled defensive pairings in the league and will be utilizing both of them to create danger and odd-man chances on both sides of the ice, and their offensive trio can very well make things happen on their own if need be. Overall, we're looking at a JYP that is more balanced than last season, but do they have that extra something that will push them on to the next round? We'll see. Prediction: Despite there being a significant amount of turnover from last season in both teams, we all still remember what happened back in ECL 10 Elite, when FBK dismantled the #1 seed and caused an incredible upset. It'll surely be a factor that could have an impact on the first few games even in this series, but as play moves on, those memories will fade. We're looking at a tremendously exciting matchup that will extend into games 6-7, and I'm hoping for the latter. JYP will bounce back from last season and advance 4-3. Tune in for ECL 11 Elite Quarterfinals tonight!