T|T Week Three Recap - Your Home for Everything NHL Esports. Good morning y'all, Wzia here. Week Three is over, and Week Four is on deck tonight. The +/- gap only rose to 81, which has been the smallest gap yet. This week had some insane storylines to follow, and we have a lot to cover this week on Three Up | Three Down. ============================= But first, let's take a look back at our storylines to watch from Week Three... ===== - Turning Point and SweetLou had a week to forget, dropping both sets against Dahlia and Complicity. Turning Point just had a hard time putting the puck into the net with only 7 goals in 5 games. While they have cemented themselves as a solid/great defensive team, the offense will have to make some strides to ensure they stay above the red playoff line. ===== - IslesGT has finally given up goals, but they're still rolling along after dropping The Underdogs and Scary Hours without losing a game. It did take two straight overtime victories to shutdown The Underdogs, but responding with a largely dominant performance against Scary Hours was a huge boost for Isles. As one of two remaining undefeated teams in the main stage, their matchup tonight against Caps Gaming could very well be a LAN preview. - In Contender's, Highlife is now the only undefeated team left after their victories against Area 51 Aliens and Accuracy. Giving up only two goals in four games, the forward based attack from @HcP PoWeR, @NaRo x9, and @K40Sx ELiTEz has left Contender's teams with no answers. With Off The Record up next, will we see a team be able to finally stop this high-powered forward core? ===== - Unfortunately for Tolerance, they drew extreme matchups and found themselves dropping both sets. While losses to Scary Hours and The Underdogs is nothing to be ashamed about, it now places them in a four win bracket with many tough opponents, including Unknown Talent, Ohana, and . Tolerance will look to right the ship against Complicity, who are coming off back-to-back wins against Covert and Turning Point. - Efficacity continues to struggle defensively while remaining an offensive powerhouse. @x_ICxLLyI remains #1 in points for the entire Showcase, but this cannot be a sustainable way to win games. When they face quality defensive teams, they're unable to win. When Efficacity scores three or less in a game, their record is 1-4. Playoff hockey is low scoring, and things need to change for Efficacity to make noise in the playoffs. Their upcoming series against BeAn ToWn BraWleRs will be indicative of this, as BTB is one of the best defensive teams in all of Contender's. ===== - The Underdogs may have dropped a series to IslesGT, but they were both OT losses that easily could have gone their way. With those two games remaining their only 1 goal games of the Showcase, The Underdogs have still proven that their offense is a real problem. With 67 goals, they place second in the entire showcase. @LoKO CRuStY is T-1st in points, proving that The Underdogs are still a major, MAJOR, threat. - We weren't really able to see Accuracy's best side, as they took a forfeit win against Rezervation before falling to Highlife in back-to-back games. @Mxnty_35 had a week to forget, as his .681sv% across the two games is not ideal by any stretch of imagination. Accuracy find themselves in a matchup against Full Pressure, who's 2.92gpg provide Mxnty with a chance to bounce back. ============================= With no interview this week, we're onto Week Three of Three Up | Three Down ===== Up: FIVE OVERTIMES. Not one, not two, five overtimes were seen in a matchup between Couch Kings and Legends Never Die. After 65 shots and over 160 minutes on the ice, Couch Kings' @HNZ Prince got the game winner. Clearly Couch Kings, who have quite the reputation for playing NHL more than almost anyone else, couldn't get enough overtime. Game 2 against Legends Never Die went to Double OT, before Prince ended us from seeing another game go an hour. Both teams find themselves at 3-3 after Week Three, dangerously close to the playoff cut line. We know they're both capable of playing tough, close, games, but will they have the chance to show that in the playoffs? Down: The old saying may be that defense wins championships, but you gotta get to the playoffs for that to ring true. If Slugz doesn't do something different, their defensive success may all go to waste. Currently at 3-3, Slugz's 22 goals against puts them at 3rd place in the Contender's Showcase. Goaltender @Kjustin87 has an .860sv% and only a 2.17 GAA. Meanwhile, their leading scorer @Chunky_Bai has just 15 points and 8 goals. My hope is that Slugz and Efficacity matchup this week, as their hugely different styles would be great to watch battle it out. ===== Up: Defense was optional for T H R A S H E R S this week. After being forced to forfeit against Art of Execution at the end of Week 2, the ship looked to be righted after a 3-1 victory against Problematic. In the next 5 games, however, T H R A S H E R S just said "fuck it" and went all out offensively. Their remaining games finished with scores of 4-5, 3-4, 11-4, 5-6, and 19-8. Like come on guys, 19 goals? Sure it was against a struggling Syracuse AAA team, but how do you drop a game to a team that you scored 35 against over three games? Players like @RobitaiIIe also must've lost the will to care, as his 49 points put him at 2nd in Contender's oveall, but his 46 PIMS put him at first in the entire showcase. T H R A S H E R S may find themselves below the cutline, but their Contender's Cup 2nd Place finish against Chappy's Champions in the Pacific Cup showed they were capable of playing low-scoring, close games. They gotta find a way to get that back as a part of their gameplan. Down: Goaltending has been outstanding so far in the Contender's Cup, with 10 starting goalies at .850sv% or higher (@TonyTBK, @Chxlked, @Reimer I32I, @Baghdelii, @Mxnty_35, @CFairman7, @TommyBoyy55, @Kjustin87, @iCLuTcH x BeasT, and @ItsBinklee). Contender's oftentimes can have a reputation where having a great goalie can bring you a long ways in the playoffs. But when so many goalies have such a strong save%, what happens then? Pacific Cup only had 7 such goalies, and only one in the .840's. Maybe the playoffs will see more games like the Couch Kings/LND series? Who knows, but for so many teams at so many different spots in the standings having such good goaltending, it'll be a story to watch. ===== Up: At 5-1, Momentumm are the only Division 2 team at 5-1 in the main stage, but it's hard to get a good grasp on where they actually stand in terms of ranking. They've done well when their opponents play, a 5-2 victory against Dahlia highlighted this perfectly, but they've also been beneficiaries of 3 forfeit wins so far. Momentumm is extremely talented defensively, with @MyLittleRevvy only needing to face 9.6 shots a game in their 10 contests. Momentumm has Scary Hours up next, in what will be their second matchup against a Division 1 team this event. Down: Off The Record has exploded to the top of the Contender's Cup standings. Now at 5-1, they have dropped only one game after their 0-2 loss to Efficacity Week 1. OTR's gameplan is efficiency in shot selection, with all 3 forwards being in the top 10 for fwd shooting%, and both dmen being top 3 in def shooting%. @Baari_-'s team is running on all cylinders right now, and they now get a tough matchup against Area 51 Aliens to prove that they are a legit team to fear in the Contender's Cup. ============================= We've reached the end of T|T this week. I'd like to thank everyone for taking time out of their day to read this. If you have anything to ask or bring up, just let me know in the comments of the post. With every week being better than the last, week 4 is shaping up to be the best yet of the Showcase. Thank y'all again for taking the time to read this, I truly appreciate it. Your Very Own Enforcer Enthusiast, Wzia ============================= Interested in more from Caps Gaming? Check out their socials for everything NHL Esports! Twitter/X Twitch Instagram Support the news team, like, comment & share your thoughts on their work
@SweetLou9208 @x_ICxLLyI @Mxnty_35 @LoKO CRuStY @HNZ Prince @Kjustin87 @RobitaiIIe @TonyTBK @Chxlked @Baghdelii @CFairman7 @TommyBoyy55 @iCLuTcH x BeasT @ItsBinklee @MyLittleRevvy @Baari_- Tagging all those mentioned cause LG's mention system is weird
