Avangard vs Metallurg. Will Magnitka equalize in the series?
This coming Thursday, March 24, Balashikha will host the fourth match of the Gagarin Cup playoff series between Avangard Omsk and Metallurg Magnitogorsk. At the moment, the score in the series is 2-1 in favor of Avangard.
Unexpectedly for many, the hockey confrontation between Avangard and Metallurg turned into a scoring feast. Over the three meetings held, the rivals have already scored 28 goals with a common effort, that is, the average performance of the current series exceeds 9 goals per game. First of all, I was surprised by the attacking game of the Avangard, which did not differ in performance both during the regular season and in the first round of the playoffs. So, Omsk residents finished the regular season with an average performance in the region of three abandoned goals, and in the first round confrontation with Kazan's Ak Bars, the performance was even lower, now Bob Hartley's wards simply amaze with their effectiveness in attack. Seventeen goals scored in three games, fifteen of them in the two opening matches of the series, which took place in Magnitogorsk.
Avangard started with an away victory 8-1, in fact, deciding the fate of the match by the end of the first period, when the score became 4-0 in favor of Omsk. The second match between these rivals developed according to a similar scenario. After the first period, the scoreboard was 4-1 in favor of the Avangard, and it would seem that the hosts could not avoid another defeat. But the second twenty minutes turned the match upside down, ending with a score of 4-2 in favor of Metallurg. In the third period, Avangard was already playing by the score, closing in its own zone, which allowed the Omsk team to keep the winning result. Avangard failed to consolidate success on home ice. After a successful start, Knight scored in the first period, Omsk residents could not finish the opponent, losing in the end with a score of 2-5.
Metallurg
Magnitka unpleasantly surprised its own fans by managing to start the series with two home defeats with a total difference of 6-15 goals. The fiasco in the first match turned out to be especially sensitive, when Metallurg lost with a humiliating score of 1-8. To some extent, the break in the contract with the main goalkeeper Juha Olkinuora affected. As practice has shown, Vasily Koshechkin, due to his age, is no longer stable, and nominally the third goalkeeper of the team, Ivan Nalimov, is not yet ready for such cup battles.
To Metallurg's credit, it's worth recognizing that the disastrous start of the series did not break the team, and in the third game, which could have become a key one, Ilya Vorobyov's wards showed their champion potential. Having conceded first, the hockey players of Metallurg systematically pressed the whole match, which in the end paid off. Three goals from Nikolai Goldobin, one each from Chibisov and Nikontsev, allowed Metallurg to win with a score of 5-2, thereby reviving the intrigue in the current confrontation.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Avangard vs Metallurg
AvangardUnexpectedly for many, the hockey confrontation between Avangard and Metallurg turned into a scoring feast. Over the three meetings held, the rivals have already scored 28 goals with a common effort, that is, the average performance of the current series exceeds 9 goals per game. First of all, I was surprised by the attacking game of the Avangard, which did not differ in performance both during the regular season and in the first round of the playoffs. So, Omsk residents finished the regular season with an average performance in the region of three abandoned goals, and in the first round confrontation with Kazan's Ak Bars, the performance was even lower, now Bob Hartley's wards simply amaze with their effectiveness in attack. Seventeen goals scored in three games, fifteen of them in the two opening matches of the series, which took place in Magnitogorsk.
Avangard started with an away victory 8-1, in fact, deciding the fate of the match by the end of the first period, when the score became 4-0 in favor of Omsk. The second match between these rivals developed according to a similar scenario. After the first period, the scoreboard was 4-1 in favor of the Avangard, and it would seem that the hosts could not avoid another defeat. But the second twenty minutes turned the match upside down, ending with a score of 4-2 in favor of Metallurg. In the third period, Avangard was already playing by the score, closing in its own zone, which allowed the Omsk team to keep the winning result. Avangard failed to consolidate success on home ice. After a successful start, Knight scored in the first period, Omsk residents could not finish the opponent, losing in the end with a score of 2-5.
Metallurg
Magnitka unpleasantly surprised its own fans by managing to start the series with two home defeats with a total difference of 6-15 goals. The fiasco in the first match turned out to be especially sensitive, when Metallurg lost with a humiliating score of 1-8. To some extent, the break in the contract with the main goalkeeper Juha Olkinuora affected. As practice has shown, Vasily Koshechkin, due to his age, is no longer stable, and nominally the third goalkeeper of the team, Ivan Nalimov, is not yet ready for such cup battles.
To Metallurg's credit, it's worth recognizing that the disastrous start of the series did not break the team, and in the third game, which could have become a key one, Ilya Vorobyov's wards showed their champion potential. Having conceded first, the hockey players of Metallurg systematically pressed the whole match, which in the end paid off. Three goals from Nikolai Goldobin, one each from Chibisov and Nikontsev, allowed Metallurg to win with a score of 5-2, thereby reviving the intrigue in the current confrontation.
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