With this weekend’s league games out of the CHL, the remaining eight teams can now focus on their CHL Quarter-Final match-ups which take place this week. How have the teams been fairing in their recent domestic matches though? We take a look.

ZSC Lions Zurich go into their series with the Vaxjo Lakers as leaders of the NLA, but only just. The Lions are a point clear of SC Bern having played two games more, and while they’ve not lost in regulation in over a month in the NLA, some dropped points with overtime and shootout wins and losses have allowed teams to catch up. The Lions lost in OT to Biel on Saturday, and are .500 in their last four games. Bern did have one of the best wining streaks in Europe before losing to it to Kloten in mid-November, but have had only two losses since the middle of October in their own league. They’ve won their last two straight, and 13 of the last 15! Fribourg-Gotteron meanwhile have lost their last four NLA matches, and head into the CHL on the back of those defeats by a combined score of 21-8.

In Sweden, Frolunda Gothenburg’s back-to-back wins over Lulea on the weekend keep them nine points clear at the top of the SHL, and have the defending champions going into the CHL two games unbeaten and with only one defeat in their last nine games. Vaxjo’s loss to Brynas Saturday saw them drop to fourth in the table, .500 in their last four games. Linkoping have a run of two straight wins thanks to victories over Malmo and Frolunda, and play the Redhawks Monday night before heading to Gothenburg the next day for CHL.

Finally in the Czech Extraliga, Sparta Prague and Vitkovice Ostrava warmed up for the CHL by playing each other Sunday afternoon in the nation's capital. The visitors from Ostrava let slip a one-goal lead in the final period, but rebounded to win in OT 4-3. That result ended Sparta’s six-game winning streak; while for Vitkovice it was a third win in five which moves them up to 8th in the 14-team league.