Locomotive vs CSKA. Prediction for the third match 1/8 KHL

The main confrontation of the first round of the playoffs in the West moves to Yaroslavl. It is there, on the ice of the local Arena 2000 - Lokomotiv, on March 5 that the third match of the series between Lokomotiv and CSKA will take place. The score in the series is 2-0 in favor of CSKA.

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Locomotive vs CSKA

Locomotive

To be frank, the railroad workers frankly failed the first part of the season. A team with championship ambitions, backed up by serious financial resources and a decent selection of players, should not show such a level of play. The change of the head coach, and at the end of September Andrei Skabelka was replaced by Igor Nikitin, did not radically change the situation. All the same indistinct game, serious problems with implementation, periodically lame defense. Thus, the sixth place in the regular season is quite natural, the railway workers simply did not play enough for more.

The expectation that Lokomotiv will gather in the playoffs and show better hockey has not yet been justified. After two opening games in Moscow, Lokomotiv is hopelessly on fire in the 0-2 series, risking to complete its cup campaign in front of its fans in Yaroslavl. If in the first match Lokomotiv was closer to victory, allowing the army team to level the score only at the 56th minute of the match, then the second match of the series was lost without options. The locomotive managed to open an account, in the fourth minute of the first period Anisimov scored, but later the game was dictated by the army club, ending with the victory of CSKA with a score of 4-1.

CSKA

The army team entered the season with loud statements about changing the game concept to a more attacking one, replacing Igor Nikitin with the club legend Sergey Fedorov for this task. Judging by the statistics at the end of the regular season, there were no significant changes. If last season the army team scored an average of three goals per game, now this figure has dropped to 2.6 goals per game. Already traditionally, an almost perfectly built game in defense comes to the aid of the army team. In terms of the number of missed goals, the army team confidently stays in the top five teams in the League.

Before the start of the playoffs, there were certain fears that CSKA would not be in optimal condition for the first round. It was the army team that was the base club of the Russian team at the Beijing Olympics, delegating almost half of the team to the hockey tournament. Fears were not confirmed. In the first game, CSKA managed to add at the end of the match, losing during the third period with a score of 2-3. As a result, first Okulov equalized the score, and then in the fourth minute of overtime, Maxim Sorkin brought victory to the capital team. The army team had to recoup in the second match of the series. Having conceded already in the fourth minute, the army team literally equalized the score with the efforts of Plotnikov, and then finally finished off Lokomotiv in the final twenty minutes, ending the game with a score of 4-1.

Locomotive vs CSKA

Statistics

Fate brings Lokomotiv and CSKA together for the third time in the playoffs of the Gagarin Cup, and so far each club has one final victory. In the 2016/17 season, Lokomotiv was stronger, beating the army team in a series of six matches. Hockey players of CSKA took revenge last season, completing the quarter-final series with a victory in the seventh match. In total, the history of meetings of these clubs in the KHL has 52 matches. In terms of the number of victories, CSKA has a noticeable advantage - 31, while Lokomotiv won in 21 games.

ODDs from download 1xbet

Despite two wins in a row by CSKA, the bookmaker believes that in Yaroslavl the hosts will be closer to victory: Lokomotiv win - 2.44, draw - 3.70, CSKA win - 2.70. In terms of performance quotes, everything is the same: Total over (4.5) - 2.29, Total under (4.5) - 1.60. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

In the two opening matches of this series, the teams scored 11 goals together, which, in principle, is an anomaly for this pair. In the previous 10 matches, the opponents scored 28 goals, that is, the average did not even reach three goals per match. Everything goes to the fact that in Yaroslavl the team will return to their favorite tactics. The army team, having a comfortable backlog of two victories, will not take risks, giving the advantage to the hosts, and Lokomotiv is now not in a position to calmly deal with the echeloned defense of a strong enemy. Our prediction is Total Under 4.5 with odds of 1.60.

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