This article was co-written by @Pekedipeks & @Pensasmies:
As we have reached the second round of the ECL ‘24 Spring in Core it's time to take a look at the matchups we have coming up!
Prowlers (1) vs Huskies eSports (29)
Prowlers showed us why they deserved that #1 seed with a convincing 4-0 Round 1 series win with a goal differential of 12-4. It is worth noting though that it wasn't a continuous blast of fireworks all series long for them since they had to take two of those wins after playing overtime. Prowlers did a solid job defensively in all 4 games, but big credit also has to be given to @Tizjeflen who has currently best save percentage of playoffs with an insane 91.18%.
There is definitely no debate about who made the biggest upset of Round 1. After a series that was full of drama and controversy, the Huskies managed to win one of the biggest favorites in game 6. They lost the first two games kind of clearly, but then they made their Cinderella story happen or at least the first chapter towards that by winning four 1 goal games in a row, three of them being overtime wins. Grit from this experience could serve the Huskies' favor if this series goes too far from what Prowlers are hoping.
Prediction:
@Pensasmies: Prowlers 4-1
@Pekedipeks: Prowlers 4-1
Armeijan Kuri (2) vs Taskubilis (24) 
I pointed out in Round 1 previews that Armeijan Kuri had the best faceoff win% of the regular season and the same trend is still going on. Both of their centers have been top dogs on the dot. @SemiWasted has been cooking as Taskubilis' top-scorer with 6GP 10G+4A=14P but the safe pick for this series MVP is definitely @hefezuk85 with 6G+3A=9P in the first three games (series currently 3-0). If Taskubilis can't stop hefezuk and the rest of their ice forces, i can't see how this series would take many more games.
Prediction:
@Pensasmies Armeijan Kuri 4-2
Capetown Kings got tested out hard by their Round 1 opponent after an intense series with 7 tight games. Their powerplay was the best of Core regular season, but so far after many tries they have only 1 powerplay goal in playoffs. EV Duisburg had 30 penalty minutes in their Round 1 matchup, so that needs to be changed if they don't want to give the Kings' special teams a chance to be reborn. Duisburg also had to struggle in the previous matchup when they had to take 3 out of 4 wins in overtime. I expect a tight series where the winner might be decided by penalties and simple things like puck possession. Players to watch: @GreatOne139 6GP 8G+8A=16P and @sambleri 7GP 6G+8A=14P
Prediction:
@Pensasmies: Capetown Kings 4-3
@Pekedipeks: Capetown Kings 4-3
(5) Darra Stars VS Moscow Capitals (18) 
This series will be a really interesting one as both teams have shown that they are very much a playoff team with both sweeping their opponents in the first round. Darra Stars is starting the series as a slight favorite to win it, but Moscow Capitals have also shown many promising performances. Darra Stars scored a ton in the first round, with especially @MrRelw and @isoraitti10 scoring almost 20 points each in only 4 games! Moscow Capitals had a less scoring sweep, but I am expecting their scoring to be even amongst all players. I recommend paying attention to @MycTau with the puck as he is the highest-scoring player in Moscow Capitals with also the least amount of time with the puck.
Player to watch: @MrRelw
Predictions:
@Pensasmies 4-3 Darra Stars
@Pekedipeks 3-4 Moscow Capitals
Wida (6) vs HC Lugano Academy (16) 
Score at the time of writing: 2-1 Wida
When taking a look at playoff player stats, this series stands out from the crowd with interesting facts: 4 players from the current top 5 scorers and top-scoring defensemen are playing in this series. Even though Wida won one game 0-6, every game has been relatively even stat-wise so I believe this will be decided by the firepower ability of these teams biggest names so far: @Palawatsch 9GP 15G+18A=33P and @nikitikitin 8GP 7G+22A=29P
Prediction:
@Pensasmies: Wida 4-2
@Pekedipeks: Wida 4-3
(7) Lutunilkat VS KohKae Esports (14) 
This is a matchup between two teams with a lot of experience, which was apparent already in the first round with both teams sweeping their opponents. I'm guessing this series will be a battle of goalies since both goalies have put up performances that have got both goalies almost a 90% save percentage. As Lutunilkat has had their point production spread evenly, KohKae Esports is completely different from this as @Joona41 has scored double the number of points from anyone else in the team in these playoffs. If Lutunilkat wants to win this series, they need to find a way to shut @Joona41 down.
Player to watch: @Joona41
Predictions:
@Pensasmies 3-4 KohKae Esports
@Pekedipeks 1-4 KohKae Esports
(8) Saucer Hockey VS Koskenlaskijat (13) 
Both teams had a good first round and are evenly seeded. I'm expecting this series to be a really tight one. Koskenlaskijat scored a ton in the first round, and I am expecting them to bring the same in this series, Saucer Hockey needs to keep their defensive zone clean and adapt to the attack of Koskenlaskijat. Both teams have had great goaltending throughout the playoffs and this series can also turn into a goalie battle.
Player to watch: @Miggohell
Predictions:
@Pensasmies 2-4 Koskenlaskijat
@Pekedipeks 4-3 Saucer Hockey
(10) Silver Sword Griffins VS NAM3LESS (11) 
The most interesting series’ often are the ones that are between teams who are seeded close to each other, and this matchup is going to be a tight one that can definitely swing both ways. Silver Sword Griffins showed the ability to turn the really close games in their direction and that is something im expecting to be the key to winning this series. I'm also expecting to Silver Sword Griffins to fire with their whole lineup as their point production has been spread out through the whole team.
Player to watch: @SchoolBoyz
Predictions:
@Pensasmies 4-2 Silver Sword Griffins
@Pekedipeks 3-4 Nameless
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Who do you think will win each series? Let us know in the comments!
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