The Straubing Tigers enter their Round of 16 match-up against reigning Swiss champions ZSC Lions Zurich as one of a few underdogs in this year's Playoffs. The Germans finished 15th in the Regular Season with nine points and a 3-3 win-loss record. On the flip side, Swiss giants Zurich were the second-best team of the first phase of Europe's biggest club ice hockey competition, winning all but one of their six Autumn games to end the round with a very strong 14 points.

When these two teams clashed earlier this season, it was a very close game with the two teams kneck-and-kneck throughout the 60 minutes of game time. Were it not for two goals scored by the Swiss within the final five minutes of regulation, this tie could've turned out differently. 

For the Germans, their most recent contest saw them drop their second consecutive CHL game of the season as they were bested in OT by Fribourg-Gottéron in a 3-2 final. As they prepare to take on Zurich who had no trouble getting by KAC Klagenfurt 5-1 in their last decision, Straubing will need to iron out some of their more glaring flaws if they hope to continue their CHL venture towards the European Trophy.

While their game against Fribourg should inspire some hope in Straubing's faithful insofar as the Germans were able to fire 37 shots on net, their inability to finish should be of some concern moving forward. Despite limiting the Swiss to only 17 shots, the Germans still came out on the losing side of the fixture and this inability to find the net has plagued them on multiple occasions this season. The Germans have been held to two or fewer goals in three out of six contests and are tied for 17th place in goals for per game with 2.33.

However, Straubing have also been one of the better defensive teams only allowing an average of 2.33 goals against per game. Managing to keep the puck out of their net against a Swiss squad that's been potting 3.33 goals per game will be a challenge, but a solid effort on defence could compensate for their lack of offensive production.

Meanwhile, Zurich, who have faced several challenges of their own this season, have managed to engineer a 5-1 record and, despite some close calls, have been able to dispatch most of their challengers with ease, scoring three or more goals in four out of six games played.

Two players to focus on are defenceman Mikko Lehtonen who has continued his stellar play and currently sits tied for the team scoring lead with six points (1G, 5A) in as many games played, highlighting that Zurich's scoring has come from up and down their line-up. In net, Czech netminder Šimon Hrubec has been unbeatable, claiming all four games he's played and sporting a 95.54% save percentage and a 1.22 goals against average to put him in third-place league-wide.

For the Swiss, maintaining their sound defence all the while getting contributions from their capable offence should be enough to see them through to the next leg of the 2024/25 campaign. For Straubing, upping the scoring output will be key, as will be playing right down to the final buzzer.