- Battle of two teams with ambitions to go much further
- Tappara have never made it past this stage
- Zug impressive in CHL, but only mid-table in Switzerland
If Tappara Tampere are to break their Round of 16 curse, then they'll probably want to head to EV Zug next week still in the tie.
The Finns' start in their own league has been nothing short of impressive. Tappara have picked up over 85% of the points on offer through their first 19 games, and have only lost one game at home in regulation since the season started. Forward Tyler Morley has led them, and the entire Liiga, with 23 points thus far, while starting goalie Christian Heljanko has stopped almost 93% of shots in 11 games so far.
Expectations were high in Zug after the off-season's new signings, but so far they've made only an indifferent start in the National League. EVZ are at .529 from 17 games, and sit in the middle of the table. Former Lugano forward Gregory Hoffman has 21 points and 13 goals in 17 games for his new side, putting him as the third top scorer in the league. Leonardo Genoni only stopping 89% of shots may go some way to explaining their middling start.
What is of note in the Champions Hockey League however is that Dan Tangnes' team have yet to lose in regulation time - both of their losses until now were in shootouts.