Bavarian giants Red Bull Munich had a less than ideal start against Swiss contenders EV Zug in their first round game of the 2022/23 Champions Hockey League Playoffs. The opening minutes were choppy, and tightly contested, with both sides not giving an inch, but Zug would get the upper hand early on thanks to a powerplay opportunity that the Swiss visitors took full advantage of.

Top Scorer Brian O'Neill continued his offensive spree, lighting the lamp at 6:45 to make it 1-0 for Zug. Less than a minute later, a pass from Livio Stadler would hit the stick of an uncontested Dario Simion who skated into the crease, tipping the puck past Danny aus den Birken to make it 2-0 for the visitors. 

A third goal would come at 13:06, this time O'Neill, who skated from behind the back of the net, fed the puck up to the high slot, hitting the tape of Slovak forward Peter Cehlárik who let rip a one-timer to give the Swiss outlet a 3-0 lead.

A catastrophic sequence of events in Munich's defensive zone unfolded in the second stanza, allowing Zug to further extend their lead to 4-0, this time courtesy of Sven Senteler. A high sticking call on Lino Martschini gave the team from Germany a vital chance to fight their way back into the game, but Leonardo Genoni was outstanding in arresting all efforts.

With the halfway point of the game passed, morale down, and Zug not showing any signs of slowing down, the continuing barrage of shots on aus den Birken resulted in him being subbed out at 27:24 for Daniel Allavena.

It was dominant puck possession by Zug, while fewer quality scoring opportunities came Munich's way. Patrick Hager almost had a chance on the doorstep of Genoni, drawing a penalty in the process. The extra man was a golden chance for Munich but they couldn't find their finishing touch. With tempers flaring and a scuffle breaking out, the period intermission was a timely break for both sides.

Heading into the third period, Zug killed off the remaining minutes of shorthanded play. Munich finally opened up their scoring at 44:33, and although Genoni had the initial save, Munich forward Filip Varejcka had no trouble wristing up the stray rebound to cut the deficit to 5-1 to lift the spirits of his team.

Allavena looked solid, staving off all offensive attempts by Zug. Munich had a chance to cut the deficit thanks to a hooking call on Rémi Vogel, but Genoni swallowed up the attempts of the Germans. With even-strength play resuming, and the clock ticking down, a win wasn't looking possible. Munich pressed, albeit unsuccessfully, and closed the game on a penalty kill. The game would end 5-1 in favour of Zug. 

The win gives Zug a hefty buffer for the return-leg game while Munich face serious pressure to come up with a big win.