CSKA vs Vityaz. Will the Moscow Region club continue its victorious pace?
On Wednesday, September 14, the capital's CSKA Arena will be the venue for the next match of the KHL regular championship. The hosts, the Moscow army team, will play with the main troublemaker at the start of the championship - Vityaz near Moscow.
The current holders of the Gagarin Cup, the capital's army team, leave an ambiguous impression with their game at the start of the season. On the one hand, the team has a super-confident victory in the match for the Opening Cup over Magnitogorsk Metallurgist 6-2, and during the game the army team had to win back from 0-2, on the other hand, a disastrous home match against Ak Bars, which ended in a major defeat 1-5. Away defeat 1-4 from Severstal, but already in the next away match in Yaroslavl, the army team deal with the local Lokomotiv. It is noticeable that at the moment, Sergei Fedorov's wards lack a certain game stability, which was the difference between the army club during last year's playoffs.
Such instability is reflected in the standings, at the moment the army team with six points scored is unusual for themselves in sixth place in the Western Conference. The problems of CSKA in defense are striking, where, in the absence of Ivan Fedotov, the issue with the main goalkeeper sharply arose. On average, the army team now concedes more than three goals per match, although last season this figure was at the level of two goals conceded per game.
Vityaz
The Moscow Region team is the main discovery of the start of the championship so far. The last two seasons Vityaz finished outside the cup eight and the upcoming championship, according to most hockey experts, did not bode well for the team near Moscow. During the summer off-season, Vityaz lost the leading three of the attack Aaltonen - Oyyamaki - Odette, who were replaced by another group of legionnaires who had previously played in the KHL without much brilliance. There was also a change on the coaching bridge, debutant coach Yuri Babenko was replaced by quite experienced Vyacheslav Butsaev, who worked in CSKA, Sochi and Neftekhimik.
Against the backdrop of personnel problems, Vityaz gave the best start to the championship in his history, scoring four victories in a row. Moreover, the rivals were clubs, which, in certain situations, may well qualify for prizes in the championship. Two victories with the same score 3-2 over Avangard and Salavat Yulaev, 5-0 over strong Barys and 3-2 over Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. Thus, now Vityaz has eight points out of eight possible and the current second place in the West, and the leading St. Petersburg SKA club is inferior only to the difference in goals.
Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on CSKA vs Vityaz
CSKAThe current holders of the Gagarin Cup, the capital's army team, leave an ambiguous impression with their game at the start of the season. On the one hand, the team has a super-confident victory in the match for the Opening Cup over Magnitogorsk Metallurgist 6-2, and during the game the army team had to win back from 0-2, on the other hand, a disastrous home match against Ak Bars, which ended in a major defeat 1-5. Away defeat 1-4 from Severstal, but already in the next away match in Yaroslavl, the army team deal with the local Lokomotiv. It is noticeable that at the moment, Sergei Fedorov's wards lack a certain game stability, which was the difference between the army club during last year's playoffs.
Such instability is reflected in the standings, at the moment the army team with six points scored is unusual for themselves in sixth place in the Western Conference. The problems of CSKA in defense are striking, where, in the absence of Ivan Fedotov, the issue with the main goalkeeper sharply arose. On average, the army team now concedes more than three goals per match, although last season this figure was at the level of two goals conceded per game.
Vityaz
The Moscow Region team is the main discovery of the start of the championship so far. The last two seasons Vityaz finished outside the cup eight and the upcoming championship, according to most hockey experts, did not bode well for the team near Moscow. During the summer off-season, Vityaz lost the leading three of the attack Aaltonen - Oyyamaki - Odette, who were replaced by another group of legionnaires who had previously played in the KHL without much brilliance. There was also a change on the coaching bridge, debutant coach Yuri Babenko was replaced by quite experienced Vyacheslav Butsaev, who worked in CSKA, Sochi and Neftekhimik.
Against the backdrop of personnel problems, Vityaz gave the best start to the championship in his history, scoring four victories in a row. Moreover, the rivals were clubs, which, in certain situations, may well qualify for prizes in the championship. Two victories with the same score 3-2 over Avangard and Salavat Yulaev, 5-0 over strong Barys and 3-2 over Yaroslavl Lokomotiv. Thus, now Vityaz has eight points out of eight possible and the current second place in the West, and the leading St. Petersburg SKA club is inferior only to the difference in goals.
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