In rematch two years in the making, Red Bull Salzburg will battle against the Rouen Dragons in the Round of 16 as the Austrians hope for similar results against their French opponents. Statistically speaking, Salzburg have been the better of the two sides in a number of categories. Their 5-1 record compared to Rouen’s 3-3 tell the story of two teams with different paths to the Round of 16. But they don’t tell the whole story.

Where Rouen haven’t been consistent in all areas of their play, the French side’s PK% ranks fourth across the league at 88.46% and their Faceoff Win % is sixth at 53.35% which translates to more puck possession. Couple these stats with the fact that the French are currently riding a two-game win streak, including a 5:1 bashing of Rungsted Seier Capital, and their chances of success against Salzburg don’t seem so far-fetched. Helping matters is Slovenian netminder Matija Pintarič whose play to date has been a cornerstone of Rouen through the first six games. Nevertheless, the French have a mountain to climb when it comes to Salzburg who were dominant in their group.

Led by three star players, including two youngsters - Peter Schneider (3G,5A), Benjamin Nissner (2G,4A), and Danjo Leonhardt (3G,1A) as well as Terrence James Brennan (3G,5A) at the point, Salzburg cruised past the competition in the Group Stage and cemented themselves as, not only the top team in their group, but one of the top teams in the Group Stage. With their only loss coming against HC Bolzano – a 5:3 affair at home – Salzburg have played well consistently and are among the top five in Goals For (23), Goals Per Game (3.83), and Powerplay Percentage (36%).

As Rouen prepare to face one of their toughest opponents yet, they’ll need to work on finding the net more, including when on the man-advantage as they’re currently tied for 27th with 12% efficiency. For Salzburg, they simply need to maintain their play and solve Pintarič early on to give themselves a shot at advancing to the Quarter-Finals.