The Champions Hockey League Final is only two days away!
As our Finalists suit up and finalise tactics ahead of Saturday's game, let’s take a look at their domestic form heading into the biggest game of the season.
Tappara Tampere
Since clinching their second consecutive place in a CHL Final, reigning Liiga champions Tappara Tampere have had a jam-packed calendar having played 13 Liiga games in the span of 28 days, winning six and losing seven.
It's been an unfortunate run of bad games since the Finns secured their spot in the all-or-nothing Final back in the Semi-Finals in January. The team that currently sit third in the Liiga standings are just one point behind local rivals Ilves Tampere but are still very much in the race for top spot in the regular season.
Just like in the CHL, Niko Ojamäki is the team's top goal scorer, while Veli-Matti Savinainen is second but has been especially active recently.
Both have scored 13 goals, which ranks them 6th and 7th respectively in the Liiga Top Scorer standings at the moment.
Tappara's last game saw them beat SaiPa Lappeenranta a whopping 8-0, but before the Finns fully switch focus on to the CHL Final, they have one final Liiga game which will see them face top-of-the-table Lukko Rauma.
If Tappara win, they'll head into their European Final on a high, but if they lose the game that is scheduled for later on Thursday, it could shake their confidence a bit.
Luleå Hockey
Luleå Hockey's epic 4-3 shootout win over bitter rivals Frölunda Gothenburg in the CHL Semi-Finals in mid-January seemed to have sparked a rejuvenation for the SHL side.
Since then, the northernmost team of Sweden's top tier have played nine games and have won six and lost just three - a noticeable improvement on their previous form!
This solid points haul has helped them climb out of the bottom positions of the SHL table as they now sit in ninth position, only two three-point wins off fifth.
The team's top goal scorer has been Leo Komarov with nine goals. The forward hasn't played many games in the CHL this season, but second-placed Isac Brännström has scored eight and is one of the club's most productive players on the pan-European stage also.
Ahead of the big CHL Final, Luleå still have one more game to play, as they host last season's CHL participants Leksands IF late on Thursday evening.
After that, their focus entirely shifts to the ultimate showdown of the 2022/23 CHL season.
Luleå Hockey and Tappara Tampere will face each other in the ultimate one-game CHL Final in Luleå, Sweden this Saturday, 18 February 2023, at 16:20 CET.