It’s a case of glass-half-empty or glass-half-full for HC Pilsen after the first leg of their Quarter-Final with Skellefteå AIK. On one hand, they earned a draw on the road and now have the second leg and home, but on the other, they had a 3-0 lead after two periods of last week’s game and let it get away.

Dormant for two periods, Skellefteå’s big guns came out in the third period, with Linus Lindström scoring twice in the last eight minutes, with Juhamatti Aaltonen and Johan Alm also picking up two points each. They’re just a few of several big guns that Pilsen will have to try to keep in check, including Oscar Möller and former CHL MVP Mathis Olimb, who are the team’s top two CHL scorers this year.

For Pilsen, Matyáš Kantner got his first two points of the season in the first leg and the team’s go-to guy, captain Milan Gulaš, opened the scoring with a highlight-reel goal. With that, he is now tied for the CHL lead with eight goals and tied for fifth in points with 11.

By not losing, they also remain the Champions Hockey League’s lone unbeaten team in this year’s competition. However, that won’t mean anything if they don’t prevail on home ice.

Since last Tuesday’s game, both teams have played twice in their domestic leagues. Pilsen had been back and forth recently in the Extraliga, but won both games in the past week, 2-1 in a shootout in Litvínov on Friday and 6-3 at home to Karlovy Vary on Sunday. Skellefteå, meanwhile, lost twice away from home - 3-2 in overtime at Djurgården on Thursday and 4-1 at Rögle on Saturday.