Lukko Rauma were taken to the brink in their previous tilt against Pinguins Bremerhaven as the Germans overcame a two-goal deficit to engineer a 3-2 win in the shootout. Their opponents sank six past the Belfast Giants as EV Zug cruised to their third win of the campaign.

Zug's offensive outburst that began with three tucks through the first 20 minutes against Belfast was the product of competent play that we've seen all season from the Swiss. Having scored three or more goals in each derby has certainly helped their numbers as they currently sit atop the league in Goals For with 4.25.

Former NHLer Dominik Kubalík is currently leading the fray with five points (3G, 2A) through four contests. He was instrumental in their win over the Giants, netting two tallies, and has been a workhorse for his side with a TOI/GP of 16:52, behind fellow forwards Andreas Wingerli and Tomáš Tatar. As they prepare for their upcoming contest against a tough Finnish squad, sustaining their productivity should be their top priority.

What Lukko witnessed firsthand in their last match-up was just how fragile a lead could be. After taking a 2-0 lead courtesy of Jami Krannila's powerplay marker, the Finns let their foot off the gas a bit and allowed Bremerhaven to claw their way back into the contest in the dying minutes. It would be sufficient to say a full 60-minute effort is the remedy here, but that's not the case.

As of now, the Finns are scoring 3.75 goals a game and only allowing 2.50. They're also in the top 10 among powerplay conversion. The real issue lies in their PK which sits at 78.95%. Tidying up their strategy when down a man would certainly help against a healthy Zug powerplay that's currently tied for sixth place league-wide.