After two away games in which they were outscored 12-1 by Oceláři Třinec and HV71 Jönköping, Esbjerg now come home for another attempt to gain their first points in Group D against those same two teams. Their performance in Jönköping was actually quite an improvement and with a little luck, they might have had a better result.

“We had a 5-on-3 and hit a couple goalposts, had some scoring chances and those are ones that can really bring you momentum,” Esbjerg coach Mark Pederson said of his team’s missed opportunities in a 3-0 loss.

As for HV71, after a surprise loss to Adler Mannheim and a less-than-convincing victory over Esbjerg at home, maybe hitting the road is just what the doctor ordered. Generating scoring chances hasn’t been a problem, but the finish hasn’t been there. It’s still early, though, and there’s no reason to hit the panic button with this talented roster.

“I think we’re still out of sync. We look a bit hesitant in our play, we’re not coming in with speed and our engine is stuttering at times, so we’ve got lots of work to do,” head coach Johan Lindbom assessed. “The next two games are away in Denmark and Germany so we’ve got to be better.”