Färjestad Karlstad got off to a great start early and never looked back as they lashed Sparta Prague to the tune of 6-2 in the First Game and now hold a comfortable four-goal aggregate advantage heading into the Return Game of this Champions Hockey League Semi-Final series.

The contest couldn't have started much better for the Swedish side as just over a minute and a half in, Viktor Lodin opened the scoring with a beautiful deflection in front to give his side the early lead. Four more players would net markers for Färjestad with their leading scorer, Oskar Steen, securing his fifth and sixth tallies of the tournament as the Swedish combined for 23 shots on goal.

Netminding was also a strength for the Swedes as LGT MVP Award Nominee Maxime Lagacé has proven himself to be an excellent option as he recorded his seventh win of the season, stopping all but two of Sparta's 30 shots, achieving a 93.33% save percentage. Lagacé continues to be a force between the pipes and only sits behind ZSC Lions Zurich's Šimon Hrubec in wins, while outpacing netminders who have played in seven or more contests with a sparkling 92.86% save percentage and 1.54 GAA.

As they get set to host a desperate Sparta club, look for these trends to continue as Färjestad have been one of the more consistent clubs all season in these departments. The four-goal cushion they enjoy should also give them confidence as they've rarely given up the lead this season.

What was a storybook run to the Semi-Finals quickly became a nightmare for the Czechs who were outclassed in every category in their First Game against the Swedes. Sparta chased the lead from the early going and, despite a quick equaliser in the first period, never seemed to keep up the pace, eventually securing their second goal of the night with less than ten minutes to go in regulation.

This loss was indicative of a problem that has plagued Sparta all season - scoring. As of now, they are currently sitting in seventh place in goals for with 27 while teams including Pinguins Bremerhaven, Red Bull Salzburg, and Eisbären Berlin, all of whom were eliminated from the competition, are above them in the category.

Re-energising their offensive efforts should be a top priority for the Czechs. Their netminding and defensive concerns aside, it's what Sparta does (or doesn't do) with the puck that has put them in this position, and it's going to need to be the thing that sets them up for success and, potentially, a trip to the Final.

In this regard, Finnish forward Jani Lajunen has been a nice surprise - he secured the early equaliser in the First Game and has scored in consecutive games. Having him along with the likes of Filip Chlapík and Michael Špaček firing on all cylinders could make the hopes of continuing their 2024/25 campaign a reality.