ZSC Lions Zurich enter the Champions Hockey League Round of 16 off the back of some good domestic form, after a relatively poor start to their National League season.

The Lions have won their last three games straight, and five of their last seven, in the league – although they did exit the Swiss Cup to lower league opposition. Lukas Flueler has been given the nod in just over half of ZSC’s domestic games and looks to continue in the CHL, where he played half of the team’s group-stage games. Swedes Robert Nilsson and Frederik Pettersson lead the Lions' scoring in the National League, while Pettersson is tied for the overall CHL scoring lead with Frölunda's Ryan Lasch.

“We have to take previous results as a warning,” said ZSC Lions’ Sport Director Sven Leuenberger, acknowledging the Panthers’ CHL win over Bern in the group stage. “We’re expecting a North American-style. Our coaches have been watching videos of their games to prepare.”

The Panthers have lost just one of their last six games in the Elite League and Challenge Cup. Like the Lions, they also sit third in their own league. Michael Garnett will be again relied upon to provide the backbone to the team, while Josh Shalla and Brett Perlini are the team’s top two goal-scorers in the CHL. Perlini also leads the Panthers in the Elite League.

"There’s no pressure on us. We set out to do our best and show that the Elite League has come a long way," said Panther's Head Coach Corey Neilson. "We’ve already done that. At this stage, the CHL is an aggregate score affair and we’re used to that in our play-offs and our Challenge Cup later stages, so we know what we’ve got to try to do in the first leg in Switzerland."