Half of the remaining teams in this season's Champions Hockey League will leave the tournament tonight, as the return legs in the Round of 16 take place.
HC Pilsen vs. HC Lugano (1–4)
Home Monitoring Arena; 18:00
Pilsen host Lugano in this series where one first-time CHL participant is guaranteed to make the Round of 16. The home side expects to welcome Ryan Hollweg back into the lineup, while netminder Lukas Sochurek will make his senior debut.
How will Pilsen approach the game? "Like any other game. we didn't play well in Lugano, we know that, but we're going to go into it and try to play our best and see what happens," said forward Nicholas Johnson. "They're a very skilled team, they have a few very skilled forwards and a good power play so we'll have to play a disciplined game but we'll play better and it should a good game."
"Our mindset is to go there to win the game not to lose by two goals, that would be too dangerous. We'll see the tape of their last game, but most important we have to think about our game, we want to go there and dictate the pace of the game. Actually we are playing good so there's no reason why we should not make the next round," said head coach Doug Shedden, who welcomes back Maxim Lapierre, back from the New York Rangers after a try-out. "It's obvious better to have him with us then to see him playing with another team, he had offers from others teams. He'll bring a lot of energy in the building in our team, he was a huge part of our last year success, so we are happy to have him back," added the coach.
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HK Nitra vs. Vitkovice Ridera Ostrava (0–7)
Nitra Arena; 18:00
Vitkovice go into the return matchup in the best position of any team in the Round of 32. They would have to lose tonight's game by eight goals(!) to go out, but that said Nitra will not be going out to do anything less than try to cause one of the most famous comebacks of all time.
"We still have the motivation to win. We are playing in front of our fans. There is definitely the will-power to try to conduce a little miracle on ice. The situation isn’t positive, but we’ll try to score as many goals as possible," said Marek Slovak, Nitra forward.
Jakub Petr, Vitkovice coach, added, "This is another game in our very demanding schedule. I don’t want to talk in meaningless phrases, the goal is to win and we will do everything we can in order to accomplish that."
Lukko Rauma vs. HV71 Jonkoping (0–2)
Kivikylän Areena; 18:00
Two early goals and some smart defending saw HV71 secure a two-goal win over Lukko last week, with the sides now going back to Rauma with the Swedes in the driving seat.
“We came out great and scored two quick goals and played the game pretty well I think,” said centre Ted Brithen, who scored the second goal.
Brithen's line, which includes CHL top scorer Martin Thornberg, had some great chances to add a third goal, which would have really given them a stranglehold on the series, but just couldn't connect again. “Of course we went for it if we got the chance, but we wanted to make sure we didn't lose the puck too easily. Maybe we dumped the puck a little too often instead of taking it into the zone like you do when you’ve got momentum in the game,” he said.
Coming back is not an impossible task, but to do so, Lukko will have to do some things differently. “We have to get our offensive game going,” Lukko defenceman Janne Niskala said. “We spent too much time in our own zone. Just get the momentum going and don't take too many penalties. We are confident that we can turn this series around – it's only two goals. Last year we were down too and managed to turn it around.”
SaiPa Lappeenranta vs. Tappara Tampere (2–0)
Kisapuisto; 18:00
A shutout of Tappara on their own ice means SaiPa only need to keep a clean sheet in their own rink to guarantee advancing to the next round.
"We have now played twice against Tappara this year, once in our own league and another in the CHL – both games have been tight with small margins, and thats what we are looking for on the return game as well. We'll need to play for the whole 60 minutes," said SaiPa assistant coach Tuomo Ropo. "In the first game we succeed to play a good, diciplined 60 minutes. Tappara only had 11 shots on our net. We konw that they have a good power play, so we have to stay out of the penalty box."
Tappara defenceman Pekka Saravo added, "The first thing tonight is to show everybody that we are not as bad as we looked in the first game. The second is to score three goals more than SaiPa in this game.”
Karpat Oulu vs. Sparta Prague (1–1)
Oulun Energia Areena; 18:00
After a tight game in Prague, both teams go up to Oulu for a winner-takes-all affair. Last season Sparta headed to Finland with a two-goal lead and were undone late on, something they're keen to avoid this season.
"The last two seasons we were unlucky to be eliminated from the CHL. We conceded the key goal in the last seconds against Linkoping and, a year later, the same happened against Karpat," said Lukas Pech, Sparta forward. "If we will leave our best on the ice, I think that we can battle for a good result on Karpat’s ice."
IFK Helsinki vs. TPS Turku (1–1)
Helsingin Jaahalli; 18:00
IFK and TPS played out a low-scoring match last week, and re another pair of teams going into the return leg with the result entirely dependant on tonight's scoreline.
IFK Helsinki team manager Ari Halttunen looked ahead at their Liiga opposition, saying, "TPS is a team that takes time and space away from the opponent. We have to be ready for that and move your legs and the puck. And be ready to battle right from the start. Special teams will play a big role in the game."
Skelleftea AIK vs. JYP Jyvaskyla (0–4)
Skelleftea Kraft Arena; 19:00
Two years ago, JYP and Skelleftea met in the CHL Quarter-Finals where JYP also had a four-goal lead during the first game, but blew it and eventually lost the series in a shootout in Skelleftea.
"We have a completely new team here and I don’t even remember how many of those players are still on the team. I don’t think they think about that. This is a new and challenging place to be in right now," said JYP Coach Mirko Virtanen. "We’ll need to play like we normally do. The score doesn’t change a thing. It would be a big mistake if we started to look at the score of this game.”
Frolunda Gothenburg vs. Yunost Minsk (2–3)
Frölundaborg; 19:00
Defending champions Frolunda again take to home ice n the Round of 32 trailing, although not by the two goals they were behind to Ingolstadt last season.
Pär Johansson, Frolunda assistant coach, said of the game, ”It is do or die for us. Yunost Minsk's defensive players are big and strong and the team possess a lot of skilled individual talent offensively. The key for us is to play with speed and discipline.”
Djurgarden Stockholm vs. KalPa Kuopio (0–2)
Hovet Arena; 19:00
Hot KalPa travel to struggling Djurgarden as the two sides put domestic form to one side for the return leg of their CHL matchup. Having blanked the Swedes in Kuopio, the Finns have a slender but significant advantage.
“We just have to keep our focus on scoring at least the two goals that we need. That’s our main issue," said coach Robert Ohlsson. "It will be intense like this one and we need to be able to move forward with the puck.”
Ohlsson's opposite number Pekka Virta added, ”Djurgarden is a tough team to play against and in Kuopio game there were times when they controlled the game despite us winning. Now we at least know what is waiting for us on Tuesday in Stockholm, even though on their home ice they will come to us even harder. We know what is coming and we try to find ways to play against them,” added the KalPa head coach.
Farjestad Karlstad vs. Bili Tygri Liberec (1–4)
Löfbergs Arena; 19:00
Farjestad were three goals down to Lulea going into the return game last season and now find themselves in the same situation this time around – just with home ice advantage now in their favour. Last year they got the goals they needed in Lulea, but one against saw them go out of the competition. Can they go one better this year?
"We have a mountain to climb to get to the next stage in the tournament," admitted head coach Leif Carlsson. "Liberec played very well against us last week and we have to be much better if we are going to survive in the CHL. We will do everything we can to do that."
Vaxjo Lakers vs. Red Bull Munich (1–1)
Vida Arena; 19:00
The penultimate winner-takes-all matchup of the night sees Munich head to Vaxjo all square after a hard-fought draw in Bavaria last week.
"The first match was a tough story in which Viktor Andren's fantastic goaltending kept us in the game. Munich is a really good team but we feel we should be able to play our game at home," said Lakers' GM Henrik Evertsson.
"We're expecting a fast and intense game with little space on the ice, just like it was in Munich," added Munich's Yannic Seidenberg. "To win we need to bring our best game again."
SC Bern vs. Red Bull Salzburg (4–1)
PostFinance Arena; 19:45
Bern's excellent road performance in Salzburg last week sees them back back on home ice with a commanding 3-0 lead over their EBEL opponents, and off the back of a 5-0 blanking of Geneve in their own league. Salzburg got a lift with a big win over rivals Linz in their last league game.
"Our position before the game against Red Bull Salzburg is obviously very good. But we have to be careful. There is no reason for us to feel safe, because we think the 4:1-win in the first game looks better than the game was," conceded Bern GM Alex Chatelain. "Offensively we played quite well, but they had a lot of scoring chances. So we have to be concentrated on Tuesday, play our game and don’t give them an opportunity to get hopeful."
"Somehow we need to turn a three-goal deficit around and will be going out to do exactly that," confirmed Red Bulls' forward Manuel Latusa. "We can't however go full throttle from the beginning though. There are sixty minutes in which we have to score the goals and if we can force overtime we'll see what happens then."
ZSC Lions Zurich vs. Grizzlys Wolfsburg (4–1)
Hallenstadion; 19:45
Another team in a good position going back to their own ice are NLA league leaders ZSC Lions, who have a three-goal cushion to start with against Wolfsburg. Despite this, coach Hans Wallson, who has plenty of CHL experience when he was with Skelleftea, knows however that the series is far from over.
“They were really strong in the last game, but we found a way to win,” Wallson said. “We were good at scoring goals on the power play, and that was the key. It’s was a really good result for us, we're in a good situation, but we still have to work hard and confirm it.”
Wolfsburg head coach Pavel Gross said of the task in front of his team, “We know that it is going to be a difficult challenge. We did not play bad in the first game, but we have to do a couple of things better to reach the next round. Zurich is one of the best teams in Europe. We are looking forward to playing against them again.”
Fribourg-Gotteron vs. HC Kosice (1–1)
BCF Arena; 19:45
The final winner-takes-all tie is in Fribourg, where the hosts are level with their Slovak opponents thanks to a late equalizer in Kosice last week. Last season the Slovaks travelled to Skelleftea a goal up but lost, but this year they will have to score away from home in the return game if the are to stand any chance of progressing further.
"Last week we tried to play aggressively while on attack, but Fribourg’s defence did a great job," reflected veteran Ladislav Nagy. "On their ice, I think that it’s going to be the other way around – we will try to make the most of every chance that we can create, particularly odd-man rushes."
Friboug head coach Larry Huras said of last week's game: “I am really happy that it finished 1-1. I knew that Kosice would come out very strong. They played very well throughout the game, and their goalie played really great.”
EV Zug vs. Eisbaren Berlin (0–4)
Bossard Arena; 19:45
Berlin are the only German team going into the return legs ahead, and are the only team from the DEL to have made it past the Round of 32 in the past. Zug, on the other hand, are one of only two Swiss teams playing tonight that are down in their series, but at least have home ice to try and turn things around on.
"Its going to be hard, but not impossible," affirmed EVZ sports manager Reto Klay. "We need to make better use of our scoring chances, and stay out of the box!"
Berlin captain Andre Rankel, who saw his team lose both of their DEL games over the weekend, added, "We have a good result from the first leg going into this game. Zug is a good team. We want to get back on track and will do everything to advance to the next round."
Linkoping vs. Davos (7–4)
Saab Arena; 20:00
Davos made the Semi-Finals last year but will have to seriously go some to avoid going out in the first knock-out round this year. Down three, they head to Linkoping, who also left the competition at this stage last year to Liberec.
"We are back in the series with three goals, that's doable," affirmed Davos captain Andres Ambuhl. "If Linkoping can come to our rink and win with a three-goal difference, then so can we go to theirs and do the same. We scored four on them before, so we know there will be chances to do so again."