CSKA vs Lokomotiv. Will the railroaders even the score in the series?

For the third consecutive season, fate brings CSKA and Lokomotiv to the playoffs. The second match of the current quarter-final series will be held in Moscow on March 19, on the ice of the local CSKA Arena. The score in the series is 1-0 in favor of CSKA.

• Expert Predictions Analysis
• Statistics
• Odds
• Game Totals Prediction

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on CSKA vs Lokomotiv

CSKA

Despite the fact that the army team are the current holders of the Gagarin Cup, it is difficult to call CSKA the main favorite in the current draw. This is due to the uneven performance during the regular season, for a long time the wards of Sergei Fedorov were in the second half of the standings, and only the shock ending allowed them to finish in second place in the Western Conference. The first round of the playoffs did not add much optimism to army fans. The series against Cherepovets Severstal lasted as long as possible and in the seventh, decisive match, the army team was on the verge of relegation, losing during the first period with a score of 0-2. As a result, everything ended well for the capital club, winning 5-3 in the match and 4-3 in the series.

In the quarterfinals, the army team faced Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, which is now headed by former CSKA coach Igor Nikitin. Open hockey was not expected from this confrontation, and the first game only confirmed this. Two starting periods passed without goals scored, and only in the final twenty-minute period did the army team manage to excel. Dyblenko at 46 minutes and Karnaukhov at 50 brought the capital club the first victory in this series.

Lokomotiv

The railroad finished third in the West in the regular season, which is an undoubted success compared to last season. The coaching style of Igor Nikitin is becoming more and more noticeable, Lokomotiv has relied on pragmatic indoor hockey, which, although not to the liking of many fans, but consistently brings results. Lokomotiv has 122 goals conceded in 68 regular season games, which is the absolute best result in the League. For comparison, the same capital army team conceded 162 goals.

Lokomotiv did not change itself in the first round of the playoffs, where Vityaz from Moscow region turned out to be the rivals. Strict defensive play, only 6 missed goals in five matches - all this was the key to the final victory. Despite the fact that Lokomotiv started in the series with a home defeat 0-1, but in the future the railway workers only won 6-2, 4-0, 3-2 and 2-1. To some extent, history repeats itself in the quarterfinal confrontation with the army team. Again the defeat in the first game, once again the railroad could not score even one puck. At the same time, in terms of the number of shots on target, Lokomotiv outplayed its opponent - 35 to 13, but the effectiveness of these shots turned out to be zero.

Statistics

For the fourth time, CSKA and Lokomotiv meet in the playoffs of the Gagarin Cup. Once Lokomotiv went further, winning the series with a score of 4-2. In the seasons 20/21 and 21/22, luck was already on the side of the army team, who won 4-3 and 4-0, respectively. In the last five matches played by these teams in Moscow, Lokomotiv failed three times to score more than one puck against the army team - an individual total of 2 under (1.5) - 2.05. This season, the rivals have met 7 times - 4 wins against CSKA, 3 against Lokomotiv. The most popular score lately is 2-1 in favor of CSKA -11.0.

Odds from download 1xbet

And for the second match of the series, the army club, according to 1xbet, comes out as a favorite. The victory of CSKA in regular time can be taken as 2.1, a draw - 3.6, the victory of Lokomotiv - 3.4. The first match only confirmed the fears of skeptics about the ineffective course of the series, for the second game the following quotes of the teams' total performance were put up: total under (4.5) - 1.6, total over (4.5) - 2.29. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

The first game between these opponents, as expected, turned out to be not very spectacular, with a clear emphasis on defensive actions. At the same time, despite the zero goals scored, the railroad workers played quite actively in the attack, inflicting 35 shots on target of the army team. At some point, quantity should turn into quality, so in the second match we expect goals from Lokomotiv. Our prediction is Lokomotiv's Individual Total over 1.5 with odds of 1.76.