Ak Bars vs Salavat Yulaev. Who will be stronger in the legendary Green Derby?
The next game week in the KHL ends with the iconic confrontation between Ak Bars and Salavat Yulaev. The second Green Derby this season will be held in Kazan, on the ice of the local Tatneft Arena. The meeting will take place on September 24.
From the very first games of the championship, the Kazan club confidently confirms its reputation as one of the main favorites of the tournament. Bars have everything for the championship - a truly strong squad, where each line has a whole scattering of stars, an experienced coach who, with the same Ak Bars, has already won the Gagarin Cup three times. Already in the opening game of the championship, the capital's army team was beaten on the road with a score of 5-2, so the Kazan team took a kind of revenge for the defeat in the final of last year's Gagarin Cup.
There were some misfires. Bars' first defeat in the championship came in a home match against HC Sochi, the worst team at the end of the last championship. To some extent, the banal underestimation of the opponent had an effect; the Kazan team played the game with an overwhelming advantage, but in the end they managed to lose with a score of 1-3. Another defeat came on a visit to Ufa, where Barsy lost to local Salavat Yulaev 2-3 in a bitter struggle. Otherwise, everything is going well for Bars; in the eight matches played, the team won six victories, taking 12 points out of a possible 16. This result allowed Ak Bars to take second place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the leading Metallurg. As for personnel losses, Ak Bars has three hockey players on the injured list - defender Vyacheslav Voinov and forwards Evgeny Svechnikov and Artyom Galimov.
Salavat Yulaev
The Ufa team is two points behind the Kazan club, having played one match less. Just like Ak Bars, Salavat still had the same two defeats, both with the same score of 1-2. First, the Ufa team had an unsuccessful trip to Yekaterinburg, losing there to the local Avtomobilist, and then with the same football score of 1-2 they lost at home to Magnitogorsk Metallurg. There were noticeably more victories; Viktor Kozlov’s team won five out of seven matches, thereby occupying fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Salavat’s rather low performance during the current season is confusing. The Ufa team barely reaches the 2.5 mark, although for the last few seasons Salavat Yulaev has been associated by hockey fans with an attacking style of play. The defense comes to the rescue, where it is worth noting the excellent play of goalkeeper Alexander Samonov, who is among the best in terms of percentage of reflected shots in the League. Among the losses, it is worth paying attention to the injury of promising forward Danil Alalykin, who played only two matches this season.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Ak Bars vs Salavat Yulaev
Ak BarsFrom the very first games of the championship, the Kazan club confidently confirms its reputation as one of the main favorites of the tournament. Bars have everything for the championship - a truly strong squad, where each line has a whole scattering of stars, an experienced coach who, with the same Ak Bars, has already won the Gagarin Cup three times. Already in the opening game of the championship, the capital's army team was beaten on the road with a score of 5-2, so the Kazan team took a kind of revenge for the defeat in the final of last year's Gagarin Cup.
There were some misfires. Bars' first defeat in the championship came in a home match against HC Sochi, the worst team at the end of the last championship. To some extent, the banal underestimation of the opponent had an effect; the Kazan team played the game with an overwhelming advantage, but in the end they managed to lose with a score of 1-3. Another defeat came on a visit to Ufa, where Barsy lost to local Salavat Yulaev 2-3 in a bitter struggle. Otherwise, everything is going well for Bars; in the eight matches played, the team won six victories, taking 12 points out of a possible 16. This result allowed Ak Bars to take second place in the Eastern Conference, three points behind the leading Metallurg. As for personnel losses, Ak Bars has three hockey players on the injured list - defender Vyacheslav Voinov and forwards Evgeny Svechnikov and Artyom Galimov.
Salavat Yulaev
The Ufa team is two points behind the Kazan club, having played one match less. Just like Ak Bars, Salavat still had the same two defeats, both with the same score of 1-2. First, the Ufa team had an unsuccessful trip to Yekaterinburg, losing there to the local Avtomobilist, and then with the same football score of 1-2 they lost at home to Magnitogorsk Metallurg. There were noticeably more victories; Viktor Kozlov’s team won five out of seven matches, thereby occupying fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings.
Salavat’s rather low performance during the current season is confusing. The Ufa team barely reaches the 2.5 mark, although for the last few seasons Salavat Yulaev has been associated by hockey fans with an attacking style of play. The defense comes to the rescue, where it is worth noting the excellent play of goalkeeper Alexander Samonov, who is among the best in terms of percentage of reflected shots in the League. Among the losses, it is worth paying attention to the injury of promising forward Danil Alalykin, who played only two matches this season.
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