SKA vs Metallurg. What will the leader of the Eastern Conference show on the St. Petersburg ice?
The central match of Sunday's game day in the KHL will take place in St. Petersburg. On January 7, the Ice Palace will be the venue for a meeting between the local SKA and the best team in the Eastern Conference – Metallurg Magnitogorsk.
The current championship for the St. Petersburg team can be divided into two parts. For the first two months, SKA was absolutely unimpressive with its play, experiencing serious problems both in attack and defense. But even then it was clear that the army’s problems were temporary. This is what happened in the end: the injured hockey players returned to duty, the star newcomers adapted to the requirements of the coaching staff, and the army team began a progressive movement up the standings.
In November, the army team went on a winning streak of 11 matches in a row, breaking it in Yekaterinburg in the post-match shootout. After the failure in the Urals, the St. Petersburg team played 8 fights, scoring seven victories and one defeat. The SKA hockey players also celebrated the beginning of 2024 with a big victory, with a score of 6-1, beating Vityaz near Moscow at home. Now the St. Petersburg team is already third in the West, with 63 points scored, only three points behind the leading Spartak. At the same time, if we take the time period of the last 20 games, then the St. Petersburg team is clearly the best in the League, taking 37 points out of 40 possible.
Metallurg
The Ural club runs the long distance of the regular season more consistently, avoiding failed series. The only unsuccessful period in the championship came at the end of October, when Metallurg lost five matches in a row. And here it is worth noting the work of Andrei Razin, who managed to rid Metallurg of the notorious academicism that haunted the team throughout the last season. Now Metallurg is third in scoring in the League, second only to Spartak and SKA in terms of the number of goals scored, and the lag behind the St. Petersburg team is only one goal. The team does not have one clear leader; at the moment, already 9 hockey players have more than 20 points for performance. The most productive member of Metallurg at the moment is 20-year-old Daniil Yurov, with 32 points, only 25 in the summary table of the championship's top scorers.
In 2024, Metallurg managed to play one match, successfully flying to Sochi for a rendezvous with the club of the same name. The game against the championship outsider was not easy, after the first period Metallurg was losing 0-2, but through the efforts of Yurov and Eremenko they managed to send the game into overtime, where the experienced Denis Zernov managed to put the winning point. The away victory, coupled with the defeat of Avangard, allowed Metallurg to strengthen its leadership in the East. Now Magnitka, with 65 points scored, is four points ahead of its closest pursuer.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on SKA vs Metallurg
SKAThe current championship for the St. Petersburg team can be divided into two parts. For the first two months, SKA was absolutely unimpressive with its play, experiencing serious problems both in attack and defense. But even then it was clear that the army’s problems were temporary. This is what happened in the end: the injured hockey players returned to duty, the star newcomers adapted to the requirements of the coaching staff, and the army team began a progressive movement up the standings.
In November, the army team went on a winning streak of 11 matches in a row, breaking it in Yekaterinburg in the post-match shootout. After the failure in the Urals, the St. Petersburg team played 8 fights, scoring seven victories and one defeat. The SKA hockey players also celebrated the beginning of 2024 with a big victory, with a score of 6-1, beating Vityaz near Moscow at home. Now the St. Petersburg team is already third in the West, with 63 points scored, only three points behind the leading Spartak. At the same time, if we take the time period of the last 20 games, then the St. Petersburg team is clearly the best in the League, taking 37 points out of 40 possible.
Metallurg
The Ural club runs the long distance of the regular season more consistently, avoiding failed series. The only unsuccessful period in the championship came at the end of October, when Metallurg lost five matches in a row. And here it is worth noting the work of Andrei Razin, who managed to rid Metallurg of the notorious academicism that haunted the team throughout the last season. Now Metallurg is third in scoring in the League, second only to Spartak and SKA in terms of the number of goals scored, and the lag behind the St. Petersburg team is only one goal. The team does not have one clear leader; at the moment, already 9 hockey players have more than 20 points for performance. The most productive member of Metallurg at the moment is 20-year-old Daniil Yurov, with 32 points, only 25 in the summary table of the championship's top scorers.
In 2024, Metallurg managed to play one match, successfully flying to Sochi for a rendezvous with the club of the same name. The game against the championship outsider was not easy, after the first period Metallurg was losing 0-2, but through the efforts of Yurov and Eremenko they managed to send the game into overtime, where the experienced Denis Zernov managed to put the winning point. The away victory, coupled with the defeat of Avangard, allowed Metallurg to strengthen its leadership in the East. Now Magnitka, with 65 points scored, is four points ahead of its closest pursuer.
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