Färjestad Karlstad took their first home game 4-1 over Swiss challengers EHC Biel-Bienne in a contest that saw the Swedes heavily outshoot Biel-Bienne 43-22. The Aalborg Pirates travelled to Sweden where they were handed their third loss, a 5-2 final, by the Växjö Lakers. A bright spot for the Danes was their powerplay which secured their only two markers on the night.

The stat story for their game against Växjö and the actual result were as expected for Aalborg. They ended the game with an Expected Goals of 1.82 while Vaxjo had 4.45 Expected Goals – this is very close to the 5-2 actual result.

Their three powerplay goals on ten attempts so far this season has them fifth in the entire Champions Hockey League. If they’re drawing penalties, they’re generating scoring chances. Translating that same success to even strength should be their focus along with hunkering down on defense. Currently, the Danes are tied for fifth-worst in goals allowed with 13. Aalborg have a tough task in keeping Färjestad’s scorers at bay, but we’ve seen upsets in the CHL already this season.

The Swedish, on the other hand, have scored four goals in two out of three tries this season and, besides their loss to ERC Ingolstadt, have looked the part of the team that has appeared in CHL seasons past. Färjestad sit sixth in goals per game with 3.33 and their goals against average is among the league leaders with 2.00.

Their ability to receive contributions from all over the line-up has also given the team the opportunity to deploy players in all situations to manufacture scoring chances.

Forward Michael Lindqvist has registered four points (3G,1A), while defencemen Joel Nyström and Carl Dahlström each have three. Nyström with one goal and two assists and Dahlström securing three assists. Having this kind of versatility will only help the Swedish side and could make life difficult for the Danes.