Timeout Lev.

Faceoff in Slovan zone to Janus's right, 6 on 5 with goalie out.

Slovan back at full strength and clear the zone, called for icing.

Slovan ices, Lev starts back . . .

Lepisto from the point blocked, Danielsson rebound high . . .

Battle for the puck up and down the boards in Slovan zone, Stepanek goes to the bench for 6th attacker . . .

Offside Lev on a battle for the puck along the boards.

Icing Slovan.

Offside Slovan.

Slovan back at full strength, Lev with possession in the attacking zone.

Ondrej Nemec takes a long shot on goal from the neutral zone, then Jaroslav Janus ices the puck himself.

Lev goes offside again, pass just behind the intended receiver. Faceoff at centre ice with 1:14 left in the penalty.

Lev power play goes offside.

Attendance for this game is 15,543, about 800 shy of the league record set last October here vs Dynamo Moscow.

Icing Lev.

Stepanek makes a glove save with his team back at full strength, puts it back into play . . .

Lev clears as the penalty time winds down.

Jonathan Sigalet with the shot from the point on the PP, then Mario Bliznak digs away at the rebound, Stepanek covers. 1:18 left in the penalty.

Now Lev breaks in and defenceman Juraj Mikus takes a long shot, save Janus, play continues.

A lot of play in the neutral zone as Lev looks for an entrance lane in the zone, Slovan plugging it up pretty well.

Offside Lev.

Nicklas Danielsson sent a shot from the boards that Janus had trouble with, puck stayed in the goalmouth area for a while before getting cleared.

Icing Slovan.

Lev shoot-in gets tipped over the glass behind the net. Faceoff in the Slovan zone.

Roman Kukumberg led a Slovan 2-on-1 rush, but pass across to Kudrna didn't connect.

Centering attempt from Danielsson stopped and held by Janus.

Finally Janus covers the puck for a faceoff.

Ondrej Nemec sends a dangerous looking shot just wide, looks like it was intended to be tipped.

Play moves back to the Lev zone, penalty over.

Lev with control in Slovan zone on the PK . . .

Sersen once again quarterbacking Slovan's PP, a couple of shots from the point.

Once again, Slovan starts the period on the power play. 1:30 left in Danielsson's tripping minor.

Teams are back on the ice and the 3rd period will begin shortly.

Slovan started that 2nd period right where the first left off and opened up a three-goal lead before Lev pushed back with a pair of goals, setting up an interesting third period. There was a lot of back and forth play between goals with some near misses and a couple of crossbars.

Shots on goal in the 2nd period (and game): Lev 12 (20), Slovan 13 (28).

3rd period begins at 20:45 CET, 14:45 EST.

Slovan threatening in the Lev zone.

Slovan's Jonathan Sigalet belts Richard Gynge into the boards at the blueline.

Stepanek catches and holds a shot on the latest Slovan rush.

Lev defenceman Nathan Oystrick works over Olvecky behind the net with a couple of big checks--it's not been a good last few minutes for Olvecky.

Straight out of the box, Peter Olvecky is called offside, faceoff coming all the way back to the Slovan zone where the pass originated.

Shorthanded, Milan Bartovic's shot is deflected out of play with :08 left in the penalty. Faceoff in the Lev zone.

A blind pass gets picked off and puck iced...

Lev getting pressure and control, but no quality shots yet. Janus covers a loose puck in front with 1:07 left in the penalty.

Hudacek's long shot deflected wide by Stepanek.

Slovan clearing attempt goes off a Lev glove hanging over the bench, faceoff outside.

Marcel Hossa hits Janus in the shoulder and it deflects out of play. Faceoff inside.

Long Slovan pass is offside, faceoff back to their own blueline.

Jakub Klepis leads a Lev rush with a shot from a weak angle, play continues in Slovan zone . . .

Puck deflected out of play in the Lev zone as we pass the game's midpoint. Faceoff inside.

End to end continues, finishing with Ivan Svarny being denied by Stepanek. Faceoff upcoming in Lev zone.

A point shot from Lepisto is blocked, then Danielsson's shot is deflected over the glass. Faceoff in the Slovan zone.

Some back and forth play right now, this game is quite different than the first two games b=played between these teams.

Offside Lev on the stretch pass, faceoff in their own zone.

After Slovan's 4th line buzzed in the attacking zone without getting a shot, Lev comes back the other way and goes offside.

Offside Lev.

Now back the other way and the puck once again deflected over the glass and out of play. Faceoff inside the Slovan zone.

Jakub Nakladal with a shot for Lev right off the draw, pad save Janus.

Jiri Novotny with a high wrister on a rush gloved by Janus.

Puck deflected out of play off a Lev stick, faceoff outside the Slovan line.

In the dying seconds of the penalty, Kukumberg gets Slovan's first shot on goal.

Sami Lepisto, another player making his Lev debut, gets a shot on goal off the draw.

Icing Slovan.

Jiri Novotny leads a Lev rush and gets a shot on goal, tried to get to the rebound too but Janus didn't let it get away.

Tomas Mojzis with a wrist shot from the point, gloved by Stepanek.

Petr Vrana takes a shot on a Lev rush, save, but Lev keeps possession in the zone.

Vladimir Mihalik takes a hard slapper that hits Stepanek in the chest and he holds on.

Alexanders Nizivijs with Lev's first shot in a long time, stopped by Janus without much trouble.

Offside Slovan on the stretch pass, faceoff back in their own end.

A great chance for Slovan, Michel Miklik had the puck right in front of Stepanek but couldn't get a shot off on his backhand.

After a pass that would have sent Jakub Klepis in alone fails to connect, Slovan goes back the other way and gets a shot, Stepanek saves and covers.

Slovan coming in waves, Milan Bartovic with the shot this time, save Stepanek.

Shot attempt by Tomas Mojzis, another ex-Lev defenceman, is deflected out of play. Faceoff coming up in the Lev zone.

Back at full strength, Lev breaks out...

Jan Tabacek with the shot from the point, stopped and then the puck is iced.

Ex-Lev defenceman Michal Sersen rips a shot from the point, pad save Stepanek . . .

After the Slovan goal, the large throng of Slovan fans here in Prague really came alive and they're still chanting.

Offside Slovan.

and on the following Slovan rush, Stepanek makes a save and holds on.

Ex-Lion Michal Sersen takes a shot from the high slot that goes over the net . . .

Offside Slovan

Alexanders Nizivijs, one of three new players in the Lev lineup tonight, gets a shot on goal from the slot, pad save Janus.

From the point, Ivan Svarny gets Slovan's first shot on goal, Stepanek covers for a faceoff.

The national anthems of the Slovak and Czech Republics have been played and the opening faceoff is moments away.

The first two times the two teams left have not disappointed. Two hard-fought battles between the teams from the former Czechoslovakia have both finished in low scoring goaltending duels with Slovan Bratislava´s Jaroslav Janus edging Lev Praha´s Tomáš Pöpperle. The first meeting, November 3 at Tipsport Arena was sold out two weeks in advance and the jubilant, bi-partisan crowd was treated to an emotion-filled game in which Slovan got second period goals from Roman Kukumberg and Michal Vondrka before Jakub Voráček responded for Lev in the third, but it wasn´t enough. Then on December 8 in Bratislava, the game followed a similar story -- this time Ľubomir Višňovský and Kukumberg building the lead before Zdeno Chára got one back.

With 3 points, Kukumberg is the top scorer in the Czecho-Slovak derby after two games, with Canadian defenceman Jonathan Sigalet contributing 2 assists for Slovan. Both of Lev´s 2-point scorers, Voráček and Chára, have returned to the NHL. The only player who has recorded a point this year against Slovan, centre Erik Christensen, won´t be playing after injuring his knee in last Thursday´s 6-2 win over Traktor Chelyabinsk. He will be out of the lineup for a few weeks.

"No team has a perfect season, there are always going to be some injuries," said Jakub Klepiš, referring to the fact that Slovakian forwards Ľuboš Bartečko and Juraj Mikúš are also out of the lineup. With 34 points this season but none against Slovan, Klepiš is one of the players that are going to be looked to to provide some offence on Tuesday. "They´ve beaten us twice, and we want to return the favour."

To replace the injuries and NHL departees are Finnish defenceman Sami Lepistö and Swedish forward Richard Gynge, both of whom will be making their Lev debuts on Tuesday.

Slovan is not without injuries either: Vladimír Mihálik, Miroslav Šatan, Martin Štajnoch and Andrej Šťastný are all a no-go on Tuesday. Vondrka, the team´s leading scorer with 19 points, missed the team´s last game with the flu, but is expected to play Tuesday. And then there´s the saga of Višňovský, the team´s leading defenceman with 16 points who has remained with the team rather than reporting to the New York Islanders. He is reported to have made the trip to Prague with the team and plans on playing unless the KHL intervenes beforehand.

Without a doubt, Janus will again start in goal for Slovan. His numbers on the season are excellent, 2.08 goals-against average and .933 save percentage, but his numbers against Lev are even better: 1.00 and .971. For Lev, the starter is expected to be Jakub Štěpánek. He didn´t play in either of the first two meetings between these teams, but he did face Slovan back in October as a member of SKA St Petersburg, falling 4-2.

In addition to geographic proximity, these teams are also close together in the standings and Tuesday´s game is a big one as far as Western Conference seeding. They are both even in games with 41 each -- Slovan is 6th place with 63 points and Lev is 7th with 60, so a Lev victory will have them tied. Severstal Cherepovets, Lev´s next home opponent, is 5th with 65 points, while Dinamo Minsk is 8th with 56.

The first two games of this derby were sold out and this should be no exception, the difference is this game will be played at the much larger O2 Arena. With a capacity of over 17 000, there is a chance to set the KHL single-game attendance record of 16 317, which was also set at O2 when hosted Dynamo Moscow back on October 9.

Welcome. Game starts at 18:00 CET, 19:00 CET in Prague and Bratislava, and 13:00 EST/10:00 PST in North America.