Spartak vs Metallurg. Should we wait for the series to end on the capital's ice?
The quarterfinal confrontation between Spartak and Metallurg returns to Moscow again. On Saturday, March 30, the teams will take to the ice at the capital's Megasport Arena. At the moment the score in the series is 3-2 in favor of Metallurg.
After a completely failed 2022/23 season, when Spartak found itself outside the cup eight, the current championship should already be considered successful for the red and white. Fourth place in the regular season in the West, reaching the quarterfinals of the Gagarin Cup with good chances to continue the cup fight - the coaching staff led by Alexei Zhamnov fully justifies the hopes placed on it.
In the first round, Spartak quite confidently dealt with Cherepovets Severstal, reaching the quarterfinals after five matches. The red-white attack showed itself clearly again, scoring 21 goals in five games. It would seem that the quarterfinal series against Metallurg should have been marked by attacking hockey, but so far the optimistic forecasts have not come true. The first two games of the series, held in Magnitogorsk, Spartak lost to a clean sheet, losing 0-4 and 0-1. The red and white played their home matches much more confidently, winning twice on the capital’s ice 5-2 and 1-0. In the fifth match, the capital’s hockey players failed the first half of the game, losing 0-4 by the middle of the second period. Thanks to the efforts of Maltsev, Rubtsov and Poryadin, the red and white reduced the gap to a minimum, but in the end they conceded again, losing 3-5 in the end.
Metallurg
Like Spartak, Metallurg experienced a change in head coach last summer, and we can already say that the Urals made the right decision by inviting Andrei Razin. The charismatic coach, who made a name for himself over the years of work at Severstal, immediately began working with the new club, already in his first season making Metallurg the best team in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, Metallurg got Khabarovsk Amur, with whom the Urals had to suffer a lot. Metallurg put the finishing touches on his opponent in six matches, while failing to hit the Far Eastern goal more than three times in any of the games.
The scoring breakthrough happened in the first quarterfinal match, which Metallurg played at home. Spartak scored four unanswered goals, and a day later Metallurg did not concede again, achieving a more modest 1-0 victory. In Moscow, both matches followed a similar scenario, but in favor of Spartak. The capital team first won with a score of 5-2, and then repeated Metallurg’s result in the second match, also winning with a minimal score of 1-0. The tradition of home victories continued in the fifth game of the series, when Metallurg won a landslide victory 5-3, thereby again taking the lead in the series.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Spartak vs Metallurg
SpartakAfter a completely failed 2022/23 season, when Spartak found itself outside the cup eight, the current championship should already be considered successful for the red and white. Fourth place in the regular season in the West, reaching the quarterfinals of the Gagarin Cup with good chances to continue the cup fight - the coaching staff led by Alexei Zhamnov fully justifies the hopes placed on it.
In the first round, Spartak quite confidently dealt with Cherepovets Severstal, reaching the quarterfinals after five matches. The red-white attack showed itself clearly again, scoring 21 goals in five games. It would seem that the quarterfinal series against Metallurg should have been marked by attacking hockey, but so far the optimistic forecasts have not come true. The first two games of the series, held in Magnitogorsk, Spartak lost to a clean sheet, losing 0-4 and 0-1. The red and white played their home matches much more confidently, winning twice on the capital’s ice 5-2 and 1-0. In the fifth match, the capital’s hockey players failed the first half of the game, losing 0-4 by the middle of the second period. Thanks to the efforts of Maltsev, Rubtsov and Poryadin, the red and white reduced the gap to a minimum, but in the end they conceded again, losing 3-5 in the end.
Metallurg
Like Spartak, Metallurg experienced a change in head coach last summer, and we can already say that the Urals made the right decision by inviting Andrei Razin. The charismatic coach, who made a name for himself over the years of work at Severstal, immediately began working with the new club, already in his first season making Metallurg the best team in the Eastern Conference. In the first round of the playoffs, Metallurg got Khabarovsk Amur, with whom the Urals had to suffer a lot. Metallurg put the finishing touches on his opponent in six matches, while failing to hit the Far Eastern goal more than three times in any of the games.
The scoring breakthrough happened in the first quarterfinal match, which Metallurg played at home. Spartak scored four unanswered goals, and a day later Metallurg did not concede again, achieving a more modest 1-0 victory. In Moscow, both matches followed a similar scenario, but in favor of Spartak. The capital team first won with a score of 5-2, and then repeated Metallurg’s result in the second match, also winning with a minimal score of 1-0. The tradition of home victories continued in the fifth game of the series, when Metallurg won a landslide victory 5-3, thereby again taking the lead in the series.
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