Locomotive vs Ak Bars. Will the black streak of railroad workers be interrupted in this match?
Next Thursday, January 13, in Yaroslavl, the local Lokomotiv will host an opponent from Kazan - the hockey club Ak Bars. The meeting will take place on the Arena-2000 Lokomotiv ice.
Railway workers continue their bleak performance in the current championship, risking, under certain scenarios, even finishing outside the cup eight. The change of head coach, and already at the end of September Andrey Skabelka was replaced by Igor Nikitin, gave the team the expected impetus, which, unfortunately, turned out to be short-lived. As a result, by December, Lokomotiv again plunged into its already familiar sleepy state, gradually moving further and further away from the group of leaders. The problem of the attacking line is still acute, despite the excellent selection of hockey players, each abandoned puck is given to the railroad with great difficulty. 113 goals scored in 47 matches played, only two outsiders are worse in terms of performance in the West - HC Sochi and Dynamo Riga.
To some extent, Lokomotiv was saved by a fairly reliable game on the defensive, but in recent matches the crisis covered this line as well. Four defeats in a row, with the capital's Spartak and Dynamo Lokomotiv losing at home, significantly worsened the standings of the railroad. Now the wards of Igor Nikitin have 55 points, which corresponds to the seventh place in the standings of the Western Conference. Dynamo Minsk breathes in the back, lagging behind Yaroslavl by only one point. Lokomotiv plays the next matches at home, which can help the team resolve the issue of getting into the playoffs.
Ak Bars
If Lokomotiv has the whole struggle for getting into the cup eight is still ahead, then Ak Bars needs only one point in the remaining nine matches to officially guarantee a place in the playoffs. Now the Kazan club confidently takes the third place in the East, two points ahead of the closest pursuers from Ufa Salavat Yulaev. It is no longer possible to dream of a championship, the leading Chelyabinsk Tractor and Magnitogorsk Metallurg have already come off by nine and seven points, respectively, so the main task for the final segment of the championship for Bars is to retain third place, which will allow them to start in the playoffs at home.
As for the current form of the team, it is worth noting some progress. The unexpected defeat from the Admiral somewhat spoiled the statistics, but visits to the Far East for any KHL team are fraught with certain difficulties. However, in the last 10 matches, Ak Bars scored 15 points, which is the fourth result in the League in this calendar period.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Locomotive vs Ak Bars
LocomotiveRailway workers continue their bleak performance in the current championship, risking, under certain scenarios, even finishing outside the cup eight. The change of head coach, and already at the end of September Andrey Skabelka was replaced by Igor Nikitin, gave the team the expected impetus, which, unfortunately, turned out to be short-lived. As a result, by December, Lokomotiv again plunged into its already familiar sleepy state, gradually moving further and further away from the group of leaders. The problem of the attacking line is still acute, despite the excellent selection of hockey players, each abandoned puck is given to the railroad with great difficulty. 113 goals scored in 47 matches played, only two outsiders are worse in terms of performance in the West - HC Sochi and Dynamo Riga.
To some extent, Lokomotiv was saved by a fairly reliable game on the defensive, but in recent matches the crisis covered this line as well. Four defeats in a row, with the capital's Spartak and Dynamo Lokomotiv losing at home, significantly worsened the standings of the railroad. Now the wards of Igor Nikitin have 55 points, which corresponds to the seventh place in the standings of the Western Conference. Dynamo Minsk breathes in the back, lagging behind Yaroslavl by only one point. Lokomotiv plays the next matches at home, which can help the team resolve the issue of getting into the playoffs.
Ak Bars
If Lokomotiv has the whole struggle for getting into the cup eight is still ahead, then Ak Bars needs only one point in the remaining nine matches to officially guarantee a place in the playoffs. Now the Kazan club confidently takes the third place in the East, two points ahead of the closest pursuers from Ufa Salavat Yulaev. It is no longer possible to dream of a championship, the leading Chelyabinsk Tractor and Magnitogorsk Metallurg have already come off by nine and seven points, respectively, so the main task for the final segment of the championship for Bars is to retain third place, which will allow them to start in the playoffs at home.
As for the current form of the team, it is worth noting some progress. The unexpected defeat from the Admiral somewhat spoiled the statistics, but visits to the Far East for any KHL team are fraught with certain difficulties. However, in the last 10 matches, Ak Bars scored 15 points, which is the fourth result in the League in this calendar period.
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