Ak Bars vs Amur. Will the Khabarovsk club be able to fight the favorite of the championship?
Kazan's Ak Bars will open the second month of the KHL regular championship with a home match against Khabarovsk's Amur. The meeting will take place on October 1 on the ice of the Kazan Tatneft Arena.
The Kazan club rolls into the season quite hard, periodically losing points out of the blue. Star newcomers are clearly not at ease yet, with the exception of Radulov, who scored five goals, the rest of the potential stars are in the shadows. Vadim Shipachev, the KHL's top goalscorer in recent years, has only scored two goals so far, which clearly doesn't match his level. Nevertheless, the high class of Ak Bars hockey players affects, many matches of the current championship were won precisely due to the individual skill of individual players.
Paradoxically, the most confident victory of the Bars this season came in an away match against the current holder of the Gagarin Cup. The capital's army team was defeated with a score of 5-1, the remaining six victories in the championship were won by Oleg Znarka's wards in a more stubborn struggle. The defeats of the Kazan club for the starting month of the championship accumulated much less. On the road, Barça lost to Dynamo Moscow 0-2, while at home they lost to Spartak Moscow 0-2 and Dynamo Minsk 2-3. At the moment, Ak Bars has 15 points and the current third place in their conference. In the East, Barça are second only to Metallurg and Avtomobilist, with 18 and 17 points respectively.
Amur
If Ak Bars is expected to at least reach the final, then the dreams of the Khabarovsk club are much more modest. Four seasons in a row, Amur finishes the season ahead of schedule, finishing outside the cup eight. So far, there are no special prerequisites for a qualitative leap upwards. The transfer campaign was more like patching holes than actual reinforcement. Amur's financial possibilities are also limited, which leaves a certain imprint on the formation of the team. The attack does not work properly again, 19 goals scored in 11 matches played is far from the result with which you can qualify for the playoffs.
If we are looking for positive changes compared to last year, then here we should pay attention to a more successful game on the road. If the last few seasons, Amur was considered a purely home team, scoring points on the road on major holidays, then the current championship has somewhat changed the situation. Of the four victories in the current championship, Amur won three on the road, while at home out of five matches played, the Khabarovsk team won only one. Thus, with 9 points scored, Amur is tenth in the East, ahead of only the frankly failed Neftekhimik.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Ak Bars vs Amur
Ak BarsThe Kazan club rolls into the season quite hard, periodically losing points out of the blue. Star newcomers are clearly not at ease yet, with the exception of Radulov, who scored five goals, the rest of the potential stars are in the shadows. Vadim Shipachev, the KHL's top goalscorer in recent years, has only scored two goals so far, which clearly doesn't match his level. Nevertheless, the high class of Ak Bars hockey players affects, many matches of the current championship were won precisely due to the individual skill of individual players.
Paradoxically, the most confident victory of the Bars this season came in an away match against the current holder of the Gagarin Cup. The capital's army team was defeated with a score of 5-1, the remaining six victories in the championship were won by Oleg Znarka's wards in a more stubborn struggle. The defeats of the Kazan club for the starting month of the championship accumulated much less. On the road, Barça lost to Dynamo Moscow 0-2, while at home they lost to Spartak Moscow 0-2 and Dynamo Minsk 2-3. At the moment, Ak Bars has 15 points and the current third place in their conference. In the East, Barça are second only to Metallurg and Avtomobilist, with 18 and 17 points respectively.
Amur
If Ak Bars is expected to at least reach the final, then the dreams of the Khabarovsk club are much more modest. Four seasons in a row, Amur finishes the season ahead of schedule, finishing outside the cup eight. So far, there are no special prerequisites for a qualitative leap upwards. The transfer campaign was more like patching holes than actual reinforcement. Amur's financial possibilities are also limited, which leaves a certain imprint on the formation of the team. The attack does not work properly again, 19 goals scored in 11 matches played is far from the result with which you can qualify for the playoffs.
If we are looking for positive changes compared to last year, then here we should pay attention to a more successful game on the road. If the last few seasons, Amur was considered a purely home team, scoring points on the road on major holidays, then the current championship has somewhat changed the situation. Of the four victories in the current championship, Amur won three on the road, while at home out of five matches played, the Khabarovsk team won only one. Thus, with 9 points scored, Amur is tenth in the East, ahead of only the frankly failed Neftekhimik.
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