From 32 teams down to the final two, it’s almost time for the 2018/19 Champions Hockey League Final, where the Frölunda Indians will be looking for their third title in their fourth appearance in the championship game and Red Bull Munich will make the tough trip to Sweden to try and upset the hosts in their CHL Final debut.

It’s been a long road to this point for both sides as both had overcome scares in the first knockout round. The Indians took a narrow win over HC Lugano to avoid a second straight year going out at the first hurdle, while Munich had to come from behind against EV Zug to win their first knockout series in their CHL journey – a journey that has taken them all the way to being the first ever German team in the CHL Final.

As they have done every year, Frölunda topped their group to qualify for the knockout phases with a record of four wins and two losses, one of which coming in a shootout against ZSC Lions Zurich, while Munich managed a second-place finish behind the Malmö Redhawks to finish second in Group B with four wins and two regulation losses, giving them 12 points.

Both finalists managed wins in the Round of 16 by just one goal on aggregate, with Frölunda coming out on top in a thrilling second leg against Lugano and Munich needing a come-from-behind performance in their return fixture in Zug to advance to the Quarter-Finals for the first time ever.

After the first round scare it was more smooth sailing for Frölunda, who eased past Kometa Brno and HC Pilsen to make their fourth Final in five CHL appearances, while the Red Bulls put on solid defensive performances against their Group B opponents from Malmö in the first leg, and a thrilling second leg went to overtime where Trevor Parkes’ goal in the 64th minute put the German champs through to the Semis, where they got the better of Red Bull Salzburg after a scoreless opening fixture to take a 3–1 victory on home ice.

While Frölunda have impressed with their potent offence all tournament long, it’ll be a real clash between offence and defence as they come up against Danny aus den Birken in the Munich net. Aus den Birken has been one of the best netminders in the tournament this year, coming into the Final with a .933 save percentage and tournament-leading three shutouts, including two in the knockout rounds.

Since the Final matchup was determined in mid-January, the two sides have enjoyed continued success, both remaining near the top of their domestic standings coming into Tuesday’s big game.

Frölunda may still be near the top of the SHL standings, but since their last CHL game they've had a mixed run of form domestically. In the six games since their 3–1 win in Pilsen, they’ve managed just two wins and four losses, the most recent one coming against HV71 Jönköping in their last game before Tuesday’s Final. Munich, on the other hand, have continued their impressive form with six straight wins, and continue a streak that hasn’t seen them lose in competitive action since 4 January 4 against the Schwenninger Wild Wings in DEL action, winning their last game before the Final 4-1 over DEG Düsseldorf.

With the puck dropping shortly on the Final, it won't be long until we see who is crowned champion of this year's Champions Hockey League, drawing a close to what has been yet another fantastic season of European club hockey.