While Skellefteå AIK and HC Pilsen have both struggled recently in their domestic leagues, they have been two of the more impressive teams in the Champions Hockey League so far, and they meet each other in the Quarter-Finals.

While this is Pilsen’s first appearance at this stage of the tournament, Skellefteå advanced to the CHL Semi-Finals in 2014/15.

Having claimed 23 of 24 possible points so far, Pilsen is the only unbeaten team left in the competition. They’ve also scored more goals than any other team, with 37 in eight games, thanks to an impressive 12-3 romp over HC Bolzano in the Round of 16. Skellefteå, meanwhile, have scored 34 goals following a close 7-6 victory over Storhamar Hamar in the last round. But if you’re expecting lots of goals, these teams have also been two of the stingier defensively, so it will be interesting to see who wins out.

Offensively, Milan Gulaš leads Pilsen domestically with 18 points in 22 games and he also has 10 points in eight CHL contests after a four-goal performance in the return game against Bolzano. Skellefteå fans will be familiar with Gulaš, who played four seasons for Färjestad Karlstad. David Stach had a CHL-leading 11 points during the Group Stage, but he was held off the scoresheet in the Round of 16. Skellefteå are led by the dangerous trio of Joakim Lindström, Oscar Möller and Mathis Olimb, who are the team’s top scorers in the SHL and CHL, although in different orders.

As mentioned earlier, neither of these teams have been particularly impressive in their domestic leagues of late, and sit ninth and 10th, respectively, in their 14-team leagues. Pilsen have won three of their last 10 Extraliga games, with their most recent game being a 4-1 home loss to Oceláři Třinec. Skellefteå, meanwhile, have won only five of their last 16 in the SHL, and lost 2-0 at home to Brynäs on Saturday.

While Skellefteå open at home, their record at home has been rather average while Pilsen have been surprisingly strong on the road, winning seven out of 11 domestically.