It’s advantage Sparta Prague heading into the Return Game of their Round of 16 tie against Skellefteå AIK. That’s because the Czech team earned a 3-1 away win last week, so they begin their home game with a two-goal cushion on aggregate.

Sparta got two points each from Erik Thorell and Vladimír Sobotka last week, but their real hero was goaltender Alexander Salák, who stopped 27 of 28 shots and was particularly strong in the first two periods. Strauss Mann started in goal last week for Skellefteå instead of usual starter Gustaf Lindvall, but whoever starts this game will have to be nearly perfect to give their team a chance to come back. For their part, Skellefteå’s big guns will have to produce. Last game, Oscar Möller scored the team’s lone goal on two shots while Joakim Lindström came up fruitless on five attempts.

Last Tuesday’s win was an outlier of sorts for Sparta of late as they’ve won only once in their last 11 Extraliga games. However, it should be noted that only two of those games have been at home, and this Return Game will be their first at home since 20 October. Since last week’s win in northern Sweden, they’ve lost 3-2 at Vítkovice and 2-0 at České Budějovice. After a strong start to the season, this recent swoon has dropped them to ninth in the league.

Meanwhile, it hasn’t been much better of late for Skellefteå, who have won two of their last seven SHL contests. Despite that, their start was strong enough that they still sit third in the standings. Their most recent was a 2-1 win at Leksand on Saturday before flying south.