The Swiss Life Arena will host a clash of contrasting form on Tuesday night as reigning CHL Champions ZSC Lions Zurich welcome KalPa Kuopio for the opening game of their Round of 16 match-up. While the Lions scraped through a turbulent Regular Season, the Finnish visitors arrive as one of the competition’s most confident and complete teams.

Zurich’s campaign was a story of peaks and dips. They opened their CHL season with a narrow overtime loss to Pinguins Bremerhaven before responding with commanding victories over GKS Tychy and the Odense Bulldogs. But as the schedule wore on, momentum proved hard to sustain. Tight defeats to Brynäs IF and Sparta Prague followed, ending with a one-sided game against Ilves, leaving the Lions with a 2-4 record. A reflection of a team often close but lacking the finishing touch. Still, ZSC’s quality remains unquestioned. With a fast, structured transition game and home ice in their favour, they’ll look to reassert themselves against the Finnish side that hasn’t tasted defeat all season.

For Zurich, Rūdolfs Balcers and Denis Malgin have been steady offensive presences, combining for eight points. On the blue line, Mikko Lehtonen’s shot from the point and Christian Marti’s composure have been central to the Lions’ system. Between the pipes, Šimon Hrubec has been one of the team’s brightest performers, posting a 93.5% save percentage and a goals-against average of 1.83 - strong numbers that have often kept Zurich in tight games.

KalPa, however, come into this tie with remarkable momentum. The Finnish side won all six of their Regular Season outings, scoring 24 goals while allowing only eight. Their attack is fast, balanced, and dangerous, with Juuso Mäenpää and Cade Borchardt leading the charge and Patrick Curry setting the tone with energy and work rate. Defensively, Juuso Ketola and Iivari Räsänen anchor the blue line that supports an elite goaltending tandem of Patrik Kerkola and Stefanos Lekkas, who boast a combined save percentage above 95%.

KalPa’s unbeaten run makes them favourites on paper, but Zürich’s experience and home crowd could shift the balance. The Lions have made a habit of saving their best hockey for the big stage - and they’ll need exactly that to slow down one of the CHL’s most in-form sides.