Skellefteå AIK are in the driver’s seat heading into the Return Game on home ice in the Champions Hockey League Semi-Finals against Vítkovice Ridera. They won the First Game 4-2 in Czechia, and therefore can advance to their first-ever Final with either a win, a draw, or even a one-goal loss.

Things started well at home for Vítkovice, who led 2-1 halfway through the first period, but Skellefteå goalie Linus Söderström closed the door the rest of the way – his 29 saves and Dylan Sikura’s two points led the Swedish team to victory.

If Vítkovice are to turn this around in Northern Sweden, they’ll have to get their offence going. In fact, Vítkovice have the CHL’s second-ranked powerplay at 27.50% and Skellefteå’s penalty-kill has been surprisingly weak at 78.57%, so staying out of the box will be key for Skellefteå in maintaining their aggregate lead. In the First Game, Vítkovice were 1-for-4 with the man advantage, but one of those was cancelled early by a Skellefteå shorthanded goal and two others were called in the last minute of the game, so were not full powerplays.

Vítkovice will look for offensive leadership from captain Dominik Lakatoš, who leads the CHL with seven goals and is tied for the points lead with 12 - he's also up for a LGT MVP Award for his excellent performances all season. He scored once last week. Lakatoš also leads the competition with four powerplay goals and is tied for second in shots on goal with 33.

In goal, Vítkovice have split the crease fairly evenly both domestically and in the CHL between Lukáš Klimeš and Matěj Machovský. Curiously, although Klimeš has slightly better numbers in the Extraliga, Machovský has sparkled in the CHL with an 0.98 goals-against average and 96.82 save percentage, which are the best of any goalie who has played at least two games. No surprise that he's also up for the LGT MVP Award.

Skellefteå are led offensively by Linus Lindström’s 11 points. Lindström and teammate Oskar Nilsson are tied for the CHL’s plus/minus lead at +10. Although he only has three points in 11 CHL games, defenceman Jonathan Pudas is also one of the team’s offensive weapons – he leads the team domestically with 26 points in 33 games after a four-point outing on Saturday.

Both teams are seeking their first appearance in the CHL Final. This is Vítkovice's first time in the Semi-Finals, having previously made the Quarter-Finals in 2016/17. Skellefteå made the Semis back in 2014/15 and since then went out in the QFs on three occasions, including last year.