An interesting match-up we're delving into today, pitting HC Sochi against Lokomotiv Yaroslavl in Kontinental Hockey League action.
What’s striking about both teams is the lack of goalkeeper performances this season. Both HC Sochi netminders - Sergei Ivanov and Zavragin Yegor and Lokomotiv's custodians - Alexei Melnichuk and Daniil Isayev have not registered any saves. I'm sure the janitor could do a better job with those stats.
For HC Sochi, Timur Khafizov and Daniil Seroukh have been leading from the front - based on season stats, of course. Khafizov netting five and Seroukh with a generous philanthropic streak with six assists to his name.
Over at Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, they must be thanking hockey heavens for Martin Gernat and Stepan Nikulin. Gernat, who hasn’t found the net but clearly has a keen eye for setting up his teammates with 5 assists. Nikulin, on the other hand, seems balanced between scoring and assisting alike.
As for team performances in previous duels, they’re as mixed as your grandmother's fruit salad. However, HC Sochi shows explicit dominance with a 5-0 win. An outlier, perhaps?
The black and white tells us Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is cruising through this season with a 7-1 win-loss record, while HC Sochi is shadow boxing, whether they realize it or not, with a not so hot, 2-6 record.
Recent results reveal another chapter in this saga. Lokomotiv has clearly been barking up the right tree, while Sochi seems to be running up the down escalator.
Cramming all this wisdom into the noggin, it seems like Lokomotiv Yaroslavl would be the crowd favorite here. Unless HC Sochi pulls a rabbit out of the hat or any other place for that matter, Yaroslavl is walking away with this one.
Albert’s Prediction: Lokomotiv Yaroslavl by 3