We're onto a hockey heater here with the Vityaz Podolsk preparing to face off against Barys Astana. In goal for Vityaz, we've got Dmitry Shikin who's about as cold as a freezer in an igloo with a 0.0 save percentage this season. Maxim Dorozhko, the backup, isn't doing any better, folks. For Barys, neither Nikita Boyarkin nor Johan Mattsson have ticked the save counter yet either, which frankly, as a hockey enthusiast, I find more distressing than a porcupine in a balloon factory.
Focusing on key players on the ice, Vityaz is armed with some solid performers. Derek Barach has an impressive trajectory this season with 6 goals and a +2 plus-minus. His side-kick, Dmitri Buchelnikov, is bombing assists into the opponent's nets, like a money-grubbing uncle at an all-you-can-eat buffet, racking up 6 assists so far.
On the flip side, Barys' frontrunners, namely Michael McLeod and Alikhan Omirbekov, aren't making as much noise this season, their goal and assist stats stand a bit lower than Vityaz's big guns.
Historically speaking, Vityaz has had the upper hand in the past matchups between these two, proving their dominance like a cocky rooster in a henhouse. With consistent wins in previous games, it appears Vityaz have Barys' number. That being said, neither of these teams are having a golden period in this regular season with records that are almost as depressing as when your in-laws drop in unexpectedly for a week-long stay.
Taking recent results into the picture, Vityaz fell flat in their last two games, while Barys managed to squeak by in their recent calendar, winning the last one.
So, here's where I am compelled, as if by an unseen puck-mystic, to make a prediction. With the risk of making myself as popular as a mosquito at a nudist colony, here I go...
Albert’s Prediction: Vityaz Podolsk by 2