March 1 starts the playoffs of the Continental Hockey League. Sport24 prepared its prediction for the pairs of the first round of the Gagarin Cup and tried to predict the future winner of the trophy.
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Western conference
Forecast for SKA – Dynamo Mn
St. Petersburg and Minsk cross in the quarterfinals of the conference for the third time in a row – in the two previous cases, their series ended very quickly: in 2021, SKA needed 5 matches, and in 2022, four at all. In the current regular season, the team of Roman Rotenberg has not given the club from Belarus any of the four games, there is no reason to assume that something will change dramatically in the cup meetings.
Prediction: total matches under 4.5 – 3.25.
Forecast for CSKA – Severstal
And here the statistics of personal meetings in the smooth part of the season speaks once morest the favorite – CSKA lost to Severstal in three out of four cases. Waiting for a sensation? Hardly. Andrey Razin’s team accomplished a mini-feat during the regular season, getting out of a rather serious hole and making it to the playoffs for the third time in a row. But she can’t overcome the barrier of the first round once more – the army team knows how to get to the playoffs (24 goals in the last 4 games of the regular season), they have more than enough cup experience, a daring, but at times less classy opponent, they will quickly pacify.
Prediction: CSKA victory in the series with a handicap (-2.5) – 1.96.
Forecast for Lokomotiv – Vityaz
Probably the toughest first round series in terms of entertainment. The teams of Nikitin and Butsaev will definitely not please with sparkling hockey, they will be viscous matches, without scoring fireworks, hat-tricks and other hockey joys. The Loko roster should allow Yaroslavl players not to drag out this series, and therefore it is not difficult to choose a bet on it.
Prediction: goals scored under 26.5 – 1.76.
Forecast for “Torpedo” – “Dynamo”
By far the most intriguing confrontation in the West. Here we will see a clash of two coaching philosophies – the “romantic” hockey of Igor Larionov will collide with the pragmatism of Alexei Kudashov. In the regular season, the teams crossed four times and shared the points, having won twice. But still, it seems that Dynamo’s style is more suitable for the playoffs. In addition, Torpedo was not at all impressed in February, losing in 6 of the last 9 matches and starting to miss too many.
Forecast: Dynamo pass – 1.85.
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Eastern Conference
Forecast for “Ak Bars” – “Neftekhimik”
Probably, no one has any doubts that the elder brother team will eventually win the Tatarstan derby, but I would not want to write off the club from Nizhnekamsk tightly either. Neftekhimik did not break down following defeats in 10 opening matches of the season, climbed into the cup eight on the flag, and looked good once morest Ak Bars – they won once, in two more games they imposed a serious fight. On the part of Kazan, there may also be a slight underestimation of the opponent – the team of Oleg Leontiev should bring the favorite to life.
Forecast: score in the series following two matches (1:1) – 2.41.
Forecast for “Salavat Yulaev” – “Admiral”
Ufa did not try to pick up an opponent, powerfully rolled to the finish line of the regular season with eight wins in nine matches and now, at least once, will have to go to the Far East. This approach deserves respect, but Viktor Kozlov’s team will definitely not be once morest Admiral, and you should not expect a hockey feast in this pair. If we take the top eight of the East, then the Vladivostok team scored and conceded the least, Salavat also has a full order with the defense and goalkeeper line – hence the forecast.
Forecast: total “dry” matches over 1.5 – 2.25.
Forecast for Avangard – Sibir
10 years later we are waiting for the Siberian derby in the playoffs. In 2013, Avangard, which is traditionally considered the favorite in this confrontation, seriously suffered with Novosibirsk and finished them off only in the seventh match, no one will be surprised that this time the series will turn out to be long. After Dmitry Ryabykin was replaced by Mikhail Kravets, the 2021 champions have changed and soared quite high in the standings, but it’s still difficult to understand what kind of hockey the team plays. Much of it rests on the creativity of several leaders in attack and the reliable play of goalkeeper Demchenko. Sibir Martemyanov has much more consistency, which can play a decisive role in the playoffs. And then there’s the main keeper of Avangard missed the end of the regular season due to injury.
Forecast: the passage of “Siberia” – 2.87.
Forecast for Avtomobilist – Metallurg
The team from Yekaterinburg started the season in the most powerful way, in December-January they fell into a protracted crisis, and on the eve of the playoffs they did not show any stability, constantly alternating victories with defeats. Approximately all the same can be said regarding the current finalist, except that Magnitogorsk avoided a long series of defeats. In the playoffs, Metallurg’s players must come to their senses and stop playing the fool, as often happened in the regular season, and in such a scenario for Yekaterinburgers who are not experienced in the cup showdown, they will pass very confidently.
Prediction: Metallurg’s victory in the series with a handicap (-1.5) – 2.40.
Forecast for the winner of the Gagarin Cup
BETCITY analysts consider SKA the main favorite for the playoffs – the triumph of St. Petersburg is estimated by the coefficient 3.20. On the one hand, everything is logical – the team of Roman Rotenberg swept the regular season like a skating rink, winning it long before the finish line. On the other hand, the reaction of the head coach / general manager of the army team to each defeat was very alarming – exchanges, sit-downs and other repressions rained down. In the playoffs, such emotionality can play a cruel joke on the team.
Who if not SKA? Ak Bars looks like a favorite from the East, but one still cannot believe in the happy ending of the Tatarstan fairy tale. The leaders of Ak Bars, one of the oldest teams in the league, may not be enough for a long marathon, and Bilyaletdinov is unlikely to set any serious tasks for top rivals. “Vanguard”? Everything regarding his prospects is written a little higher.
So it turns out that the main contender for Gagarin Cup remains its current owner. Yes, CSKA did not escape the championship hangover, but gradually came to its senses and in a number of matches looked like the force that swept everyone out of its way last spring. Cool attack, excellent support from the defenders, in principle a very balanced squad, and of course, the very experience of big victories. All this in the playoffs can be invaluable.
Forecast: CSKA – the owner of the Gagarin Cup – 5.50.
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