Champions Hockey League Regular Season Winners HC Pilsen are the team to beat so far this season and ready to take them on are Swiss challengers HC Davos. While the Czechs enter this Round of 16 series with a perfect 6-0 record and are unbeaten so far, the traditional hosts of the Spengler Cup enter the Playoffs from 16th position in the Regular Season Standings following a string of three-straight losses that saw them tumble down the standings and nearly miss the Playoffs altogether.
- Pilsen are Regular Season Winners and only club unbeaten heading into Playoffs
- Davos qualified for Playoffs 16th
- First-time match-up between these two in CHL
18 points, 6/6 wins and four reigning national champions - including Swiss champions Fribourg-Gottéron and Swedish champions Skellefteå AIK - beaten. What more is there to say about the surprise form of Czech Extraliga side Pilsen? They also scored two or more in each game they played, recorded a shutout against fellow Playoffs side Rögle Ängelholm and recorded a double-digit night when they smashed ten past Bordeaux Boxers on the road.
High-scoring and a strong PP (28%) have been the staple of Pilsen's play in the CHL. Their forwards have all been taking chances when presented with them and some attack-minded blue liners have also stepped up with some top assists - like Team of the Regular Season D-man Carter Robertson with his seven helpers.
Another important part of Pilsen's play has been their pressure right down to the final seconds and their perfect puck-holding tactics, both helping them seal important results and keep the puck under control. This will be a tough team to crack for Davos!
The Swiss side were so excited to be back on the European stage and come early September, everything was looking perfect. Davos started their season with an OT win over Storhamar Hamar an epic 8-2 win over Eisbären Berlin that really made Europe notice and then they beat a tough and rough GKS Tychy on the road, but then disaster struck and the Swiss lost three straight - including a very important home game in the race for the Playoffs against Bílí Tygři Liberec.
With luck, they squeezed past HK Nitra into the final 16th position in the standings but now need to properly work for their chance to make it further. They're behind Pilsen in most areas, though when things were going their way, they were a strong and formidable opponent. They will look to strike Pilsen with their quick turnovers and speedy rushes but would do well to slightly improve on their discipline and PK (sub 80%).
Also, experienced players like Enzo Corvi, Adam Tambellini, Frédéric Allard and Dominik Egli will be looked for guidance in this two-game aggregate-scoring series.
Pilsen have the edge on paper heading into this series but Davos will do their absolute all to get a good First Game result with their home fans behind them and pull through again on the road. But will it be enough against the unbeaten Czechs? Keep an eye on this one!