ECL Playoffs Broadcast April 12th at 20:15 CEST

Hey NHLGamers,

The ECL Playoff continue tonight! Starting at 20:15 CEST, be sure to join our ECL Playoff stream, as we continue yet another two exciting matchups tonight. The first one will be faught between ECL Elite teams Carlsberg HC and Sjukstugan -  a good Finland - Sweden matchup!

Below you'll find our original prediction for this series:

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 (3) Carlsberg HC vs Sjukstugan (6) 

Carlsberg HC was one of the hottest teams in the off-season and was one of the favourite teams coming into ECL 6. They finished with a solid third place right after Written In The Stars and Dynasty. @Vilupoika, @Penatski and @Tuukka.R (KingOfApes_) comprise a forward line that makes any GM out there jealous. All of them have great hands and vision and also the game changer ability, as anyone of them can win a game for their team. With one of the best defensive pairings in the league with @Janzuh and @vatalisti, this team looks like you couldn't replace one player with another and expect better results. If CAR wants to be successful they can and if they can stay humble and focused facing a very seasoned 112, they will prevail.

Don’t count their opponent out just yet! You can easily say that Sjukstugan is the underdog in this matchup, but if you look closer at the players they have, the team looks really good. With one of the most prestigious right defensemen in the game in @Gustafsson7 returning back after a season in Synergy, taking his familiar place as the king of the hill in Sjukstugan's defense, they have a strong leader down low. Helping him along the way we have @Karkkyjaa, @Basstian23 (JaromirSniper) and @Klingen45 who is expected to be dressing for the next game. Look for him to be a game changer as well. On the forward side we have the brothers @pnordetun and @Bjono with @Norpee skating out with them. Norpee could easily be one of the most underrated players in the whole community. I suspect we will see @Nampa77 in this series as well, as he adds something the rest of the forward core doesn't have - the right-handed shot. The real MVP of Sjukstugan can be found in net as @Hullued has taken the community by storm and been excellent throughout the season.

If CAR can stay focused and disciplined for the entire length of the series, they will move on to the next round. On the other hand, if 112 wants to have a chance in the series, they cannot try to mimic the play style of opponent Carlsberg, as they tried to do in game #2 of the series. The series currently stands at 1-1. If Sjukstugan can score the first goal and play as a defensive unit out on the ice, we might have a long series here that could end either way.

Prediction: 4-3 Carlsberg HC

You can read all of our ECL Elite Round 1 Predictions here.

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: Sjukstugan - Carlsberg HC 3-1
Game 2: Carlsberg HC - Sjukstugan 5-1
 

The teams have agreed to play three games tonight, so there is a hypothetical chance that one team secures their place in the semi finals tonight. However, that's highly unlikely with these evenly matched up teams. Whatever the result tonight, the expectation is a very high-skilled hockey night between these two.

After this, we jump right over to ECL Pro, where SIKA and White Trash will decide who's going to the semi finals. The games are scheduled to start at 21:40 CEST. You can read our original prediction about the series below:

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(5) SIKA vs White Trash  (7)

 

SIKA had a rough start into this years playoffs by losing two games out of the first three, but kept their season alive by turning the series around by winning the last three matches. White Trash had to go with a full best of seven series, coming back from being down 2:3 in the series. @rGinnu turned the series into their favour by scoring six points in the last two wins. White Trash has to improve the defensive game, but definitely has the chance to outscore SIKA. We expect a tight matchup and a long series.

 

Prediction: 4-3 SIKA

You can read all of our ECL Pro Quarter Final predictions here.

 

There's been five games played in this series so far and White Trash came out strong, winning the first two with quite big numbers. Someone might have expected even a sweep after that, but SIKA came back strong in their next session, winning games 3 and 5 and losing game 4 by only one goal. SIKA continues to play with their backs to the walls. No more losses allowed. Tonight we'll see if this experienced bunch can come back from this, or if White Trash can find the tools to clinch it.

Games so far in the series (home team to the right):

Game 1: White Trash - SIKA 4-0
Game 2: SIKA - White Trash 1-5
Game 3: White Trash - SIKA 0-1
Game 4: SIKA - White Trash 3-4
Game 5: White Trash - SIKA 1-2

You can see tonight's lineups for each team in the image below:

The games will be broadcasted on the NHLGamer Twitch channel, at twitch.tv/NHLGamerTwitch. The games will feature commentary by @gzell60 and @Kenu. We'll see you there!