Lokomotiv vs Spartak. The battle for leadership in the West
On Monday, February 12, one match is scheduled in the KHL regular championship calendar. Hockey players from the local Lokomotiv and the capital's Spartak will take to the ice at the Yaroslavl Arena - 2000 Lokomotiv.
The railway workers could well have approached the head-to-head match against Spartak as the sole leader of the Western Conference, but inexplicably managed to lose at home to the championship outsider. The home match against Admiral did not initially look difficult; the Far Easterners settled tightly at the bottom of the standings, having lost all chances of getting into the playoffs. Once again, the Yaroslavl club was let down by poor execution; out of 42 shots on target at Admiral, only Rafikov's shot was an assist, while the guests showed much better efficiency, converting 17 shots into two scored goals.
Despite this defeat, the railwaymen's playing form is at the proper level. In the last five matches, Lokomotiv won four victories, including away victories over the capital's Dynamo and Spartak, direct competitors for a place in the top three in the West. These three clubs plus SKA will ultimately compete for first place at the end of the regular season. The St. Petersburg club and Lokomotiv are in a more advantageous position, having 85 and 84 points, respectively. The Railwaymen will finish the regular season with three away matches, so it is important to play the last home games as successfully as possible.
Spartak
The red-and-whites have overcome a serious gaming slump that the team fell into in January. Not least of all, this was caused by a large number of injured hockey players; at some point, Spartak was left without specialized center forwards, which seriously affected the team’s performance. Now Morozov, Maltsev, Poryadin have returned to duty and the red-white attack has sparkled again, as in the first part of the season. The first trio of Goldobin – Morozov – Poryadin, which was the main weapon of the capital club in attack, was reunited again.
Spartak won the last three matches, scoring 12 goals in these games. On home ice, Spartak beat Avtomobilist with a score of 3-0, and then took four points on the road, managing to beat one of the leaders of the Eastern Conference, Omsk Avangard. Five goals were scored against the Omsk team, but Avangard managed to respond with only three of their own. Then Spartak confidently dealt with Barys 4-1, thereby rising to third place. The gap from SKA in first place is three points, so Spartak still has a chance to intervene in the fight for the championship in the West.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Lokomotiv vs Spartak
LokomotivThe railway workers could well have approached the head-to-head match against Spartak as the sole leader of the Western Conference, but inexplicably managed to lose at home to the championship outsider. The home match against Admiral did not initially look difficult; the Far Easterners settled tightly at the bottom of the standings, having lost all chances of getting into the playoffs. Once again, the Yaroslavl club was let down by poor execution; out of 42 shots on target at Admiral, only Rafikov's shot was an assist, while the guests showed much better efficiency, converting 17 shots into two scored goals.
Despite this defeat, the railwaymen's playing form is at the proper level. In the last five matches, Lokomotiv won four victories, including away victories over the capital's Dynamo and Spartak, direct competitors for a place in the top three in the West. These three clubs plus SKA will ultimately compete for first place at the end of the regular season. The St. Petersburg club and Lokomotiv are in a more advantageous position, having 85 and 84 points, respectively. The Railwaymen will finish the regular season with three away matches, so it is important to play the last home games as successfully as possible.
Spartak
The red-and-whites have overcome a serious gaming slump that the team fell into in January. Not least of all, this was caused by a large number of injured hockey players; at some point, Spartak was left without specialized center forwards, which seriously affected the team’s performance. Now Morozov, Maltsev, Poryadin have returned to duty and the red-white attack has sparkled again, as in the first part of the season. The first trio of Goldobin – Morozov – Poryadin, which was the main weapon of the capital club in attack, was reunited again.
Spartak won the last three matches, scoring 12 goals in these games. On home ice, Spartak beat Avtomobilist with a score of 3-0, and then took four points on the road, managing to beat one of the leaders of the Eastern Conference, Omsk Avangard. Five goals were scored against the Omsk team, but Avangard managed to respond with only three of their own. Then Spartak confidently dealt with Barys 4-1, thereby rising to third place. The gap from SKA in first place is three points, so Spartak still has a chance to intervene in the fight for the championship in the West.
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