Quick Glance: It seemed like Lisbon got serious about making the playoffs and winning games about three-quarters of the way through the season. So, don’t take the Portuguese lightly. But still, Munich is a powerful club. The Red Bulls finished 9th in the league with 98 points after hanging in the Top 4 earlier in…

Quick Glance: The teams finished a point from each other in the standings and by an eyelash, Kosice won home ice advantage. It should be a fantastic – and close – series because Bern had the fourth-best offense in the league this year while Kosice always presents a strong team defense. The Slovakian team will…

Quick Glance: Of all the series involving first or second seeds – and maybe even third seeds – this one seems to be the most ripe for an upset. For one, Bratislava beat Paris four times this season in the six times they played. And Paris seems like they are teetering on being labeled injury…

Quick Glance: Berlin seems to be just about unstoppable … at least until the Smurfs reach the conference finals or finals. Their top center (Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) scored 111 points this season and their second line center (John Tavares) had 97. That means the Smurfs’ second-best center scored more points than 15 other teams’ best player.…

Quick Glance: This should be a good one. Both teams were hot when the regular season ended. And Jack Eichel vs. Nathan MacKinnon is worth the price of admission. Then you have Nikolaj Ehlers vs. David Pastrnak. The offenses are the headliners here. Belfast was 5th in the league in goals per game and Stockholm…

Quick Glance: Last season, Helsinki won the Cup and Oslo was knocked of the playoffs (by Minsk) in the first round for the third straight year. This season, Oslo placed 4th in the league and Helsinki was 3 spots beneath them. When the two teams meet in Round 1, all TV cameras will be on…

Quick Glance: Minsk finished the regular season strong (8-1-1) while London floundered a bit (5-5). The Hussars are the better team on paper and if they can maintain their momentum and form, they will be difficult to beat. When you think about Minsk, you think about their air-tight defense and star goalie Attila Adorjan. But…

Quick Glance: Copenhagen was good enough to win the President’s Trophy as the league’s top team. Dublin spiraled down in the last part of the year and placed 14th. So the Guinness Chuggers will need a sudden and resounding turnaround to upset the Tridents in the next couple of weeks. If you look at the…