Ak Bars vs Amur. Will the Far East extend their winning streak?
Two representatives of the Eastern Conference, Ak Bars and Amur, will play a head-to-head match in Kazan on February 24. The meeting will take place on the ice of the Kazan Tatneft Arena.
Closer to the start of the first round of the playoffs, it began to seem that the Kazan club was already traditionally adding to the decisive matches of the championship, having produced a series of three bright victories in a row. The victorious flash turned out to be short-lived; already this week the Kazan team plunged into their usual state, playing two faceless matches in a row that ended in natural defeats. First, there was an unsuccessful visit to Magnitogorsk, where Leopards held a draw for a long time, but five minutes before the end of regular time they missed the hosts' goal, losing in the end with a score of 1-2. Then there was an unsuccessful home match against Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, when by the fourth minute of the first period two goals were in the Bars goal. This status quo was maintained until the final whistle, each team still scored two goals, leaving the final score 2-4 in favor of the railway workers.
Another problem for Ak Bars before the start of the playoffs could be injuries to leading hockey players. Dmitry Yashkin dropped out in the middle of the season and is unlikely to have time to recover by the start of the first round. Now the ranks of the injured have been joined by goalkeeper Timur Bilyalov, as well as leading forwards Dmitry Kagarlitsky and Alexander Radulov. Ak Bars will not fall below fifth place in the East, so with a high degree of probability the Kazan club will begin its cup run with a confrontation with Ekaterinburg Avtomobilist.
Amur
The Khabarovsk club, literally like a Phoenix bird, rose from the ashes, managing to reserve the last vacant place in the playoffs from the Eastern Conference with its own finishing push. Moreover, the Far Easterners have an excellent chance of finishing the championship even in seventh place, since the Togliatti Lada frankly fell apart at the finish of the regular championship. Now Amur is only two points behind Lada, while each team has three more games in hand.
The current form of Amur is impressive; the Khabarovsk team continues its winning streak, which already has seven matches won by this minute. And here, first of all, it is worth noting the team’s defense, which conceded only 9 goals in these seven matches. To some extent, the championship calendar played into the hands of the Khabarovsk team; during this period, Amur did not play against teams from the leading group. Amur will have to finish the regular championship on the road and here they will have to play with more serious opponents. In addition to the game against Ak Bars, Khabarovsk residents will also have away matches in Magnitogorsk and Chelyabinsk.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Ak Bars vs Amur
Ak BarsCloser to the start of the first round of the playoffs, it began to seem that the Kazan club was already traditionally adding to the decisive matches of the championship, having produced a series of three bright victories in a row. The victorious flash turned out to be short-lived; already this week the Kazan team plunged into their usual state, playing two faceless matches in a row that ended in natural defeats. First, there was an unsuccessful visit to Magnitogorsk, where Leopards held a draw for a long time, but five minutes before the end of regular time they missed the hosts' goal, losing in the end with a score of 1-2. Then there was an unsuccessful home match against Yaroslavl Lokomotiv, when by the fourth minute of the first period two goals were in the Bars goal. This status quo was maintained until the final whistle, each team still scored two goals, leaving the final score 2-4 in favor of the railway workers.
Another problem for Ak Bars before the start of the playoffs could be injuries to leading hockey players. Dmitry Yashkin dropped out in the middle of the season and is unlikely to have time to recover by the start of the first round. Now the ranks of the injured have been joined by goalkeeper Timur Bilyalov, as well as leading forwards Dmitry Kagarlitsky and Alexander Radulov. Ak Bars will not fall below fifth place in the East, so with a high degree of probability the Kazan club will begin its cup run with a confrontation with Ekaterinburg Avtomobilist.
Amur
The Khabarovsk club, literally like a Phoenix bird, rose from the ashes, managing to reserve the last vacant place in the playoffs from the Eastern Conference with its own finishing push. Moreover, the Far Easterners have an excellent chance of finishing the championship even in seventh place, since the Togliatti Lada frankly fell apart at the finish of the regular championship. Now Amur is only two points behind Lada, while each team has three more games in hand.
The current form of Amur is impressive; the Khabarovsk team continues its winning streak, which already has seven matches won by this minute. And here, first of all, it is worth noting the team’s defense, which conceded only 9 goals in these seven matches. To some extent, the championship calendar played into the hands of the Khabarovsk team; during this period, Amur did not play against teams from the leading group. Amur will have to finish the regular championship on the road and here they will have to play with more serious opponents. In addition to the game against Ak Bars, Khabarovsk residents will also have away matches in Magnitogorsk and Chelyabinsk.
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