When Skellefteå AIK and HC Pilsen meet in the Quarter-Finals, it will see a clash not only for a place in the next round but of the best two teams overall in the Champions Hockey League this season so far.
The Swedes have a decent record having come through their group with only one defeat in Bolzano, and then tying in Hamar before winning the return leg to make it this far. They're joint third top scorers in the entire competition to date, and have one of the top five powerplays. Forward Oscar Möller's 7 goals makes him the joint leader for putting the puck in the net; while at the other end they'll need mantas Armalis to get his save percentage a bit higher against a team that has had no trouble scoring in the CHL.
Pilsen are the CHL's top side so far, having not lost a game yet and only dropped a point across eight games - that coming when they were already assured of topping their group. They're also the league's top scorers with 37 so far, and only 17 goals against places them only behind Frölunda in terms of having the tightest defence. Having come through their group after only four games, the Indians dispatched of HC Bolzano effectively after one leg thanks a 6-1 win in Italy. And while the goals of Milan Gulaš and Miroslav Indrák have helped them offensively, Pilsen have also been helped out at the back by Dmitri Milchakov and Dominik Frodl being equally as solid in the games they've each played.