Coming back to reduce a 3–0 deficit to 3–2 against Sparta, the ZSC Lions Zurich are full of confidence heading home for Game 2. They know they didn't play their best in Prague, but believe they are in a situation where they can win.

by Vojtech Jurak

PRAGUE – The ZSC Lions from Zurich played a tough game in Prague, but although they were down by three goals early, they managed to come back and scored twice to close the gap to one. The team doesn’t consider the 3–2 loss as a tragedy, so the players remain optimistic about their chances of winning the series when they return to their home ice. 

Zurich coach Marc Crawford acknowledged that their opponents played well, especially in the first half of the game. “They had good passion with the puck and they took the advantage of the people behind,” he said. “Only about a half of our team played well, whereas Sparta played at the level they needed to. However, it was a really good learning experience for the young guys.”

The Czech team led 3–0 after the first 28 minutes, with their opening goal in the first period coming on a beautiful tic-tac-toe passing play involving Daniel Pribyl, Martin Reway and Jan Buchtele. “Prague’s first goal was surely a pretty nice play, but I think the series is still open,” noted Lions defenceman Severin Blindenbacher. 

Blindenbacher admitted that when a team is down by a few goals they need to change their plans a bit and the way they look at the game, just as the Lions did. “We didn’t think about making it one goal difference, we just focused on the next thing we had to do. We thought that we needed to play better and that things would turn out the right way,” he added.

Blindenbacher stayed quite optimistic after the game and looked at the right things his team had made. “We were pressuring at the end and they got tired. I think they have a little bit older players than we do. If we pressure them and make their life hard, we have a good chance to win the next game,” he pointed out.

Auston Matthews, the 18-year-old American forward, agreed with his teammate. “We had to change a couple of things after the first, systemize and try to attack them harder. The second game at home will be different for sure. Our fans are really great and that’s a big advantage for us,” he is convinced. The young player appeared in the Champions Hockey League for the first time in Prague and helped his team by assisting on its first goal.

“Chris Baltisberger got the puck and he put it on net and it was just sitting there, a couple of guys went crashing for the net trying to get to it and (Fabrice) Herzog ended up putting it in,” Matthews said of the bizarre play that got his team on the board. 

Going home down by one goal rather than three is obviously a much better situation, and the whole Zurich team seems confident. “We'll play well at home, I believe,” coach Crawford predicts. “It'll be a great series.”