In a group of polar opposites, the bottom two teams will compete against each other when Oceláři Třinec square off against Slovan Bratislava with a guarantee that one, or possibly both, of these two teams will earn their first points of the season.

Třinec come into the game having scored one more goal than their Slovak counterparts but have also given up two more goals than Bratislava on the powerplay. In their last match against Group F debutantes Leksands IF, the Czech side conceded 36 shots while only firing 18 of their own in a 3-1 defeat that saw the Swedish side qualify for the Playoffs.

While not making much noise in the CHL, Třinec's Erik Hrňa has been doing some damage in the domestic league posting 14 points (7G, 7A) in nine contests. The home side will look to him as well as winger Martin Růžička, who also has 14 (7G,7A) in ten games played, for the offensive spark the Czechs need to get their first victory in 2021/22.

For Bratislava, this was certainly not the debut the Slovaks were hoping for. Following a 2-0 shutout by Fribourg-Gottéron, the team from the Slovakian capital’s hopes of going further in the competition were effectively dashed. But for Bratislava, there is a chance that they can take some points away from a Czech team that haven’t fared any better in their CHL run.

So far, it’s been Tomáš Zigo leading the scoring in the CHL while Samuel Takáč and Brant Harris, Bratislava’s two top scorers in their domestic league, have been pretty quiet through the first four games. But this will need to change as the visitors will be looking to stun the home crowd and head back home with some momentum going into their final match.