The Straubing Tigers enter their Round of 16 match-up against a familiar foe in Swiss powerhouse ZSC Lions Zurich. The two clubs already met in the Regular Season with the Swiss handing the Germans their first loss with a 3-2 decision.

In their most recent contest, the Germans dropped their second consecutive game when they were bested 3-2 in OT by Fribourg-Gottéron. As they prepare to take on Zurich who had no trouble getting by KAC Klagenfurt 5-1, Straubing will need to iron out some of their offensive flaws if they hope to continue their CHL venture towards the Final.

While their game against Fribourg should inspire some hope in Straubing's faithful insofar as the Germans were able to fire 37 shots on net, their inability to finish should be of some concern moving forward. Despite limiting the Swiss to only 17 shots, the Germans still came out on the losing side of the fixture and this inability to find the net has plagued them on multiple occasions this season. Straubing have been held to two or fewer goals in three out of six contests and are tied for 17th place in goals for per game with 2.33.

Fortunately for them, Straubing have also been one of the better defensive teams only allowing an average of 2.33 goals against per game. Managing to keep the puck out of their net against a Swiss squad that's been potting 3.33 goals per game will be a challenge, but a solid effort on defence could compensate for their lack of offensive production.

Meanwhile, Zurich, who have faced several challenges of their own this season, have managed to piece together a 5-1 record and, despite some close calls, have been able to dispatch most of their challengers with ease, scoring three or more goals in four out of six games played.

Defenceman Mikko Lehtonen has continued his stellar play and currently sits tied for the team lead in points with six (1G, 5A) in as many games played. But the backbone for the Swiss has been the outstanding contribution from Czech netminder Šimon Hrubec who has been unbeatable, claiming all four games he's played and sporting a 95.54% SV% and a 1.22 GAA to put him in third place leage-wide.

Looking ahead, maintaining their excellent play between the pipes all the while getting contributions from an offence that's ranked 7th in the league should put the Swiss in prime position to make their third Quarter-Finals appearance.