Two teams from the Czech Extraliga meet in the Champions Hockey League Round of 16, with Sparta Prague hosting Oceláři Třinec in the First Game.

Neither of these teams are strangers to the CHL and Sparta in particular has had some success. This is the fifth time that the club from the Czech capital has made the Round of 16, and in 2016/17 they went as far as a team can go without winning it all – losing the final 4-3 in overtime to Fröunda Gothenburg. For all of Třinec’s CHL appearances this is just their second time to the last 16, but the first time – 2017/18 – they advanced all the way to the Semi-Finals.

Třinec finished fourth in the Regular Season and Sparta 13th, and yet only two points separated these two teams, who are well familiar with each other.

Defensively, the two teams were very similar, with Sparta conceding 15 goals, which was one fewer than Třinec’s 16. Offensively, however, Třinec has a decisive advantage. The “Steelers” scored 24 goals in the Regular Season, which tied for second-best, while Sparta scored only 13.

One big reason for Třinec’s offensive strength is their powerful powerplay – at 31.25%, it is the most efficient in the CHL. However, they might find it difficult to score on Sparta, whose PK is tied for third at 87.50%. In the reverse matchup, Sparta’s powerplay (18.52%) and Třinec’s PK (78.95%) are both very average.

Sparta haven’t scored a ton of goals but Filip Chlapík is the team’s top scorer with six points. He’s shown himself to be an important two-way player, also leading the team with nine blocked shots. The team’s top two volume shooters are Tomáš Hyka and Pavel Kousal, who have both fired 16 pucks on net. Kousal also leads the team with seven hits. The team’s ice time leader is defenceman Michal Kempný at 21:30 per game.

Třinec’s vaunted offence is led by Libor Hudáček, whose eight assists and 12 points are each tied for the CHL lead. An important player on the team, Hudáček also leads with 21 shots on goal. Fellow Slovak Marko Daňo is second in points with eight and leads forwards in ice time with 17:42. Petr Sikora, just 18, leads the team at +6, and defenceman Marian Adámek leads the team with 21:18 on ice per game and leads the CHL with 21 blocked shots.

In goal, Josef Kořenář is the clear starter for Sparta, having played five of six in the Regular Season, and veteran Marek Mazanec is showing shades of his 2019/20 CHL form in goal for Třinec.