SKA vs Ak Bars. Who will win the main fight of the day?
The favorites of the current championship, St. Petersburg SKA and Kazan Ak Bars, will play on the last day of October in St. Petersburg. The meeting will take place at the Ice Palace of St. Petersburg on October 31.
The St. Petersburg army team continues to unpleasantly surprise their own fans, not even close to showing their last year’s level. It cannot be ruled out that the army coaching staff deliberately changed the tournament strategy. Last season, SKA dominated the League in the first part of the regular season, having already created a significant points reserve for itself by January, but the team did not have enough strength for the playoffs, and the St. Petersburg team lost to their teammates from Moscow in the semifinals. Now the St. Petersburg team is gradually rolling into the season, trying to integrate numerous newcomers into their playing schemes.
In October, the St. Petersburg club is still moving along the tournament distance with a schedule of two wins and a loss. The last gaming week was no exception. SKA on the road alternately beat Yaroslavl Lokomotiv 3-2 and Chinese Kunlun 6-3, but unexpectedly stumbled in Sochi, although it took the lead twice during the match. In the debut of the third period, Zakhar Bardakov made the score 4-3 in favor of SKA, but then the St. Petersburg team managed to concede while playing in the majority, and then, 30 seconds before the end of regulation time, they also conceded the fifth, decisive goal. Such instability does not allow the army team to get closer to the conference leaders; now Roman Rotenberg’s team is only eighth in the West with 24 points scored.
Ak Bars
As for Ak Bars, the start of the season was noticeably more successful than that of the St. Petersburg team. Even if without much brilliance, often due to the high individual skill of its own hockey players, Ak Bars scores its points. Like the St. Petersburg team, the Kazan club failed in the last game of the championship, losing heavily to Tolyatti Lada on the road. The attack worked in its usual mode, scoring three goals, but the Kazan team’s usually reliable defense suddenly failed, conceding six goals.
The defeat in Tolyatti did not allow Ak Bars to single-handedly lead the Eastern Conference standings, leaving the team in second place. Now Ak Bars has 32 points, and at the moment Bilyaletdinov’s team is second only to Magnitogorsk Metallurg, who also scored 32 points, but is ahead of the Kazan team in the number of victories won. Bars are going to St. Petersburg without their top scorer, Vadim Shipachev, who has already missed the game against Lada due to injury.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on SKA vs Ak Bars
SKAThe St. Petersburg army team continues to unpleasantly surprise their own fans, not even close to showing their last year’s level. It cannot be ruled out that the army coaching staff deliberately changed the tournament strategy. Last season, SKA dominated the League in the first part of the regular season, having already created a significant points reserve for itself by January, but the team did not have enough strength for the playoffs, and the St. Petersburg team lost to their teammates from Moscow in the semifinals. Now the St. Petersburg team is gradually rolling into the season, trying to integrate numerous newcomers into their playing schemes.
In October, the St. Petersburg club is still moving along the tournament distance with a schedule of two wins and a loss. The last gaming week was no exception. SKA on the road alternately beat Yaroslavl Lokomotiv 3-2 and Chinese Kunlun 6-3, but unexpectedly stumbled in Sochi, although it took the lead twice during the match. In the debut of the third period, Zakhar Bardakov made the score 4-3 in favor of SKA, but then the St. Petersburg team managed to concede while playing in the majority, and then, 30 seconds before the end of regulation time, they also conceded the fifth, decisive goal. Such instability does not allow the army team to get closer to the conference leaders; now Roman Rotenberg’s team is only eighth in the West with 24 points scored.
Ak Bars
As for Ak Bars, the start of the season was noticeably more successful than that of the St. Petersburg team. Even if without much brilliance, often due to the high individual skill of its own hockey players, Ak Bars scores its points. Like the St. Petersburg team, the Kazan club failed in the last game of the championship, losing heavily to Tolyatti Lada on the road. The attack worked in its usual mode, scoring three goals, but the Kazan team’s usually reliable defense suddenly failed, conceding six goals.
The defeat in Tolyatti did not allow Ak Bars to single-handedly lead the Eastern Conference standings, leaving the team in second place. Now Ak Bars has 32 points, and at the moment Bilyaletdinov’s team is second only to Magnitogorsk Metallurg, who also scored 32 points, but is ahead of the Kazan team in the number of victories won. Bars are going to St. Petersburg without their top scorer, Vadim Shipachev, who has already missed the game against Lada due to injury.
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