Avangard vs Avtomobilist. What will the Ural club show when visiting the leader of the Eastern Conference?
The central match of the next game day of the KHL regular championship will take place in Omsk. On Tuesday, February 20, hockey players from the local Avangard and Avtomobilist from Yekaterinburg will take to the ice at the G-Drive Arena.
For the first time in a long time, the Omsk club topped the Eastern Conference standings, beating Metallurg Magnitogorsk by one point. This became possible thanks to Avangard's home victory over Metallurg, which the Omsk club won last Saturday. Avangard played perfectly in defense, allowing Pavel Khomchenko to play his first clean sheet this season. Zhafyarov, Nikolishin and Chmykhov scored goals for the Omsk club. In addition to Metallurg, Ufa’s Salavat Yulaev, who is currently three points behind Avangard, may also intervene in the battle for the championship in the East.
It is worth noting that the game with Metallurg is somewhat out of the general pattern of Avangard's February matches. In the six previous matches, the Omsk team scored a lot, 26 goals, and conceded just as much - the same 26 goals. In February there were bright victories, 9-5 against SKA and 7-2 over Siberia, and no less painful defeats, 2-7 against Salavat Yulaev and 3-5 at home against Spartak. Such swings in the game do not allow us to classify Avangard as the clear favorite in the championship race in the East, especially since the Omsk team will end the regular season with two away matches against Traktor and Metallurg.
Avtomobilist
The main task of the Ural club for the remaining matches of the regular season is to try to cling to fourth place in the East, which gives a certain advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Now Avtomobilist is one step away from this, occupying fifth place with 76 points scored. At the same time, if you look at things objectively, this will be extremely difficult to do. Kazan Ak Bars, which is in fourth place, in addition to demonstrating an excellent game at the finish of the championship, has a four-point advantage over the Urals. In addition, Avtomobilist has a rather difficult schedule of remaining matches; the team will have to play two away matches and play at home with one of the leaders of the Western Conference - Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.
Another problem for Motorist is the banal lack of stability. Only in the last matches Avtomobilist managed to play superbly against Avangard 4-2 and CSKA 5-4, but at the same time collected a collection of five defeats. If Avtomobilist finishes in fifth place, there is a high probability of getting Kazan Ak Bars as opponents in the first round, which will significantly complicate the Ural club’s cup prospects.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Avangard vs Avtomobilist
AvangardFor the first time in a long time, the Omsk club topped the Eastern Conference standings, beating Metallurg Magnitogorsk by one point. This became possible thanks to Avangard's home victory over Metallurg, which the Omsk club won last Saturday. Avangard played perfectly in defense, allowing Pavel Khomchenko to play his first clean sheet this season. Zhafyarov, Nikolishin and Chmykhov scored goals for the Omsk club. In addition to Metallurg, Ufa’s Salavat Yulaev, who is currently three points behind Avangard, may also intervene in the battle for the championship in the East.
It is worth noting that the game with Metallurg is somewhat out of the general pattern of Avangard's February matches. In the six previous matches, the Omsk team scored a lot, 26 goals, and conceded just as much - the same 26 goals. In February there were bright victories, 9-5 against SKA and 7-2 over Siberia, and no less painful defeats, 2-7 against Salavat Yulaev and 3-5 at home against Spartak. Such swings in the game do not allow us to classify Avangard as the clear favorite in the championship race in the East, especially since the Omsk team will end the regular season with two away matches against Traktor and Metallurg.
Avtomobilist
The main task of the Ural club for the remaining matches of the regular season is to try to cling to fourth place in the East, which gives a certain advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Now Avtomobilist is one step away from this, occupying fifth place with 76 points scored. At the same time, if you look at things objectively, this will be extremely difficult to do. Kazan Ak Bars, which is in fourth place, in addition to demonstrating an excellent game at the finish of the championship, has a four-point advantage over the Urals. In addition, Avtomobilist has a rather difficult schedule of remaining matches; the team will have to play two away matches and play at home with one of the leaders of the Western Conference - Yaroslavl Lokomotiv.
Another problem for Motorist is the banal lack of stability. Only in the last matches Avtomobilist managed to play superbly against Avangard 4-2 and CSKA 5-4, but at the same time collected a collection of five defeats. If Avtomobilist finishes in fifth place, there is a high probability of getting Kazan Ak Bars as opponents in the first round, which will significantly complicate the Ural club’s cup prospects.
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