Ak Bars vs Avangard. What will the current owner of the Gagarin Cup show in Kazan?

The most intriguing confrontation of the first round of the playoffs starts on March 2 in Kazan. Local Ak Bars and Omsk Avangard will start the confrontation with a match on the ice of Tatneft-Arena.

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Ak Bars vs Avangard

Ak Bars

The Kazan club is one of the most titled teams in the KHL, having three victories in the Gagarin Cup. Last season, Barça reached the semi-finals, where the Omsk Avangard became the stumbling block, after all, in a seven-match confrontation, they nevertheless tipped the scales in their favor. In the current championship, Ak Bars did not particularly shine, by November it had practically withdrawn itself from the fight for the championship in the East. As a result, the Kazan club is in fourth place, five points behind the best team in the Eastern Conference, Metallurg Magnitogorsk.

Immediately, a number of Ak Bars hockey players took part in the Olympic Games in February, so the team gathered in full force just a few days ago. Nevertheless, the pause that appeared in the Barça championship was used to the maximum, having played 6 friendly matches at once. The results can be considered positive. Wards of Dmitry Kvartalnov scored four victories (over Lokomotiv 3-2 and three times over neighbors from Neftekhimik 6-2, 1-0 and 4-2). The team lost twice, to Siberia and Severstal 3-4, but here it is worth making allowances for the experimental squad, Kazan youth got their chance to prove themselves in these matches.

Avangard

The status of the current owner of the Gagarin Cup puts additional psychological pressure on the players of the Omsk club. Now any other result, except for another won cup, will be regarded as a step back. In fairness, it is worth noting that it will be extremely difficult for Avangard hockey players to repeat last year's triumph. Even during the summer off-season, the Omsk club, for various reasons, lost a number of key hockey players who made a significant contribution to the championship. The newcomers who replaced them could not fully replace the retired leaders, which is eloquently evidenced by the results of the Vanguard during the regular season. The team quickly fell off the leading quartet in the East, eventually finishing the championship only in fifth place.

Like Ak Bars, Avangard delegated a number of hockey players to various national teams in February. In a truncated composition, the Omsk club held three test matches, winning only one of them. The victory was won in the match against CSKA, when the defense of Omsk managed to win back to "zero", and the attack was able to hit the army gate twice. The defeats fell on games against other Moscow teams. Avangard lost to Spartak 3-5 and Dynamo 1-4.

Ak Bars vs Avangard

Statistics

Fate brings Ak Bars and Avangard together for the sixth time in the playoffs of the Gagarin Cup. The advantage so far is on the side of Ak Bars, which has advanced three times in the cup bracket. The avant-garde were stronger in two series, including last year's semi-final, when the team had to play the maximum possible number of matches. Avangard won a decisive victory in Kazan, qualifying for the final with a 4-3 victory. Ak Bars partially rehabilitated for that failure during the current regular season, beating Avangard three times this season (3-2, 2-1, 3-1).

ODDs from download 1xbet

The bookmaker believes that the chances of Ak Bars winning are higher, the odds for the success of the hosts are 2.25. For comparison, the victory of the Avangard is offered with a coefficient of 2.88, a draw result of 3.85. As for the expected performance in this match, here the bookmaker offered the following quotes: Total over (4.5) - 2.05, Total under (4.5) - 1.75. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

It is difficult to assess the current form of the teams, the last official matches of both Ak Bars and Avangard were played back in the first half of January. Based on the test matches played by the teams in February, Ak Bars looked much more convincing here. The home ice factor also speaks in favor of Barsov, as statistics show, the Kazan club is among the best in terms of the percentage of points scored in home matches. Based on this, our forecast is the victory of Ak Bars, taking into account overtime and a shootout with a coefficient of 1.74.

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