Salavat Yulaev vs Tractor. Which contender will come out ahead in this series?

The quarter-final series between Salavat Yulaev and Tractor moves to Ufa. It is there, on the ice of the local Ufa Arena, that the third match of the series between these teams will take place on March 21. The score in the series is 1-1.

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Salavat Yulaev vs Tractor

Salavat Yulaev

The Ufa club suffered more than others because of the current political situation, as a result of which all six legionnaires left the team. Losses fell both on the defensive line, where the team was left without the main goalkeeper Juha Metsola and leading defender Philip Larsen, and on the attacking formations. The attack was bled dry by the departure of the Finnish trio of strikers (Granlund, Manninen, Hartikainen), who had been responsible for Salavat's entire attacking creativity for several seasons. The only representative from far abroad was the Finnish coach Tommy Lamsya, who was forced to make significant adjustments to the team's game formations.

The absence of star legionnaires did not prevent Salavat from dealing with Siberia quite easily in the first round of the playoffs, giving the opponent only one game. The attacking line worked productively, scoring 16 goals in five matches. Although it was clear that the absence of leaders would not be painless. And so it happened. In Chelyabinsk, Salavat's attack looked rather toothless, scoring only one puck in each of the two matches. Nevertheless, this was quite enough to win the first game, where Alexander Sharychenkov kept a clean sheet with 24 shots saved. In the second game, one abandoned puck was no longer enough, Traktor scored four, thus, after the first two matches of the series, the score was equal - 1:1.

Tractor

Unlike Salavat, the Chelyabinsk club managed to keep all its foreign players, thus significantly increasing its chances in the fight for the Gagarin Cup. Gatiyatulin's team is built, which is confirmed by the results of the regular season, according to the results of which Traktor fought to the last with Metallurg for the championship, losing just a couple of points to his neighbors. The second place in the Eastern Conference was determined by the opponents in the first round of Neftekhimik, which the Chelyabinsk team beat in four matches. Despite four victories in a row, the series turned out to be quite stubborn, in each of the matches Traktor won with a difference of only one goal.

Traktor started the second round of the playoffs with two home matches, hoping to initially create a comfortable reserve for himself. The idea was half-fulfilled. In the first game, Traktor got stuck in the defensive formations of Salavat, without scoring a single puck in 60 game minutes. Traktor's hockey players played the second game more productively, having managed to score four goals into the opponent's goal. Byvaltsev, Kravtsov, Sedlak and Tertyshny scored goals for Traktor.

Salavat Yulaev vs Tractor

Statistics

The opponents meet each other for the third time in the playoffs and so far each of the teams has one final victory in the series. In the 2017/18 season, Traktor turned out to be stronger, finishing the opponent in the decisive, seventh match. Ufimtsy took a kind of revenge last season, beating Traktor in five matches. In the current season, taking into account the ongoing playoff series, the teams have met three times. Two victories for Salavat 6-1 and 1-0, one for Traktor 4-1.

ODDs from download 1xbet

Quite unexpectedly, the bookmaker offers Traktor as the favorite of the upcoming match, setting a coefficient of 2.21 for his victory. The option with the victory of Salavat Yulaev can be taken for 2.95, a draw - 3.90. The total performance of the teams is offered with the following quotes: Total over (4.5) - 1.95, Total under (4.5) - 1.83. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

The Ufa club, having lost the leading three of the attack, is playing quite cautiously, with an emphasis on defense. The tractor is also unlikely to force things, the time to take risks has not yet come. We expect a closed game from the teams, where each abandoned puck will be worth its weight in gold. Our prediction is Total Under 4.5 with odds of 1.83.

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