CSKA Moscow and Lokomotiv Yaroslavl are meeting for another KHL match in Moscow on September 16th. Let’s find out what the prediction has in store.
CSKA Moscow
CSKA lost to Avangard (1: 3) in the Opening Cup. Then the Muscovites defeated Ak Bars (3: 2), Neftekhimik (3: 2 OT), Severstal (4: 0), SKA (3: 0) and lost to Torpedo (1: 2 OT).
In recent seasons, CSKA had the largest league squad and constantly changing players. The combinations changed, especially when Dmitry Kvartalnov was the “army team” coach. Kvartalnov relied on constant pressure, a large number of powerful techniques and the highest possible intensity of the game. This tactic was extremely energy-consuming, so CSKA players often missed matches due to exhaustion.
Since last season, when Igor Nikitin led the team, the play of the “army team” has changed. The team still uses active forcing but does not set the task to get with the puck in the attack quickly. CSKA players began to use more horizontal passes in the middle and opponent’s zone, more often combined. Hockey players must have good chemistry among themselves for such a game to be effective. Therefore, Igor Nikitin relies on stable combinations.
CSKA has two strike shifts: Grigorenko – Vei – Kaprizov, and Popov – Shalunov – Okulov. From these hockey players, only the 39-year-old Alexander Popov sometimes misses matches. It is difficult for a veteran to play so many games in a row. In the lower shifts of CSKA, there are more changes, but the players also got to know each other quite well. For example, the coaching staff relies on the Andronov-Kalinin bunch. These hockey players played together in three of their last four matches.
CSKA can no longer be called the team with the largest rotation. Stable gaming combinations allow players to understand each other better and interact more effectively on the ice.
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
At the start of the season, Lokomotiv lost to Spartak (2: 5) and Torpedo (3: 4). Then, the Yaroslavl team won against Sochi (2: 1) and Moscow Dynamo (5: 2).
In matches with Sochi (2: 1) and Moscow Dynamo (5: 2), Lokomotiv did not have an overwhelming advantage over rivals. In the last two matches, Lokomotiv played better than at the start of the season, but still not quite strong enough to compete with the KHL top teams. In the game against Sochi, Lokomotiv lost to the opponent in all key statistics: shots on goal (21 vs 31), hits (18 vs 26), blocked shots (3 vs 8), time in attack (8:39 against 10:05). Sochi residents did not take advantage and scored just one goal. But Sochi could score points, even playing ineffectively. Lokomotiv was lucky with a winning goal that Yaroslavl defender Roman Savchenko threw from the middle of the ice. Sochi goalkeeper Dmitry Shikin made a mistake and did not catch the puck. If it was not for Shikin’s blunder, Sochi could take that game to at least overtime.
In the match against Dynamo Lokomotiv played better. Yaroslavl was better in the movement, actively played in the attack and took the initiative. The outcome of this tight game was decided by a controversial episode with the participation of Lokomotiv. With the score 1: 1 in the episode when Lokomotiv scored the second goal, the referees did not notice a violation on the part of Yaroslavl forward Stepan Sannikov. He slashed the Dynamo defender Yegor Zaitsev. After that, Sannikov made a pass to Denis Alekseev, who scored a goal. The referees had to stop the match before scoring and remove Sannikov for two minutes but did not do it.
In the episode with the third goal of Lokomotiv, Dynamo goalkeeper Alexander Eremenko made a huge mistake. Forward Yaroslavl Anton Lander threw the puck from a negative angle. Eremenko incorrectly took a position and rolled too far. The puck ricocheted into the goal from his skate. After these moments, Lokomotiv led with a score of 3: 1.
Final Thoughts
In the last ten face-to-face meetings, Lokomotiv had six victories, CSKA Moscow – four.
Last season, the teams met four times. Yaroslavl won three times (3: 1, 1: 0, 2: 1), Muscovites won one (2: 1 in shootouts).
CSKA matches in the new season rarely go with a lot of scoring. CSKA has one of the most reliable defenses in the KHL and misses a little. In five matches, CSKA lost an average of 1.5 goals – first place in the league. At the start of the season, CSKA mainly played on defense. CSKA weakly attacks and creates moments. On average, “Army men” score 2.5 goals per match and rank only 14th in the league in terms of this indicator.
CSKA will play at home. On their ice, CSKA is exceptionally reliable.
Lokomotiv is not in good shape. The team plays unstably and does not create many chances. It is unlikely that the Yaroslavl will cope with the reliable defense of CSKA and score many goals. But the Lokomotiv will not be blown out.
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