If you're searching for a riveting Kontinental Hockey League faceoff, then look no further than the upcoming match between CSKA Moscow and SKA St. Petersburg. It's like watching a ballet on ice, if the dancers wore armor and solved conflicts by smashing into each other.
CSKA Moscow is hauling an intriguing group with them. Ivan Drozdov and Vitali have both had a noteworthy season with their respective assists and goals. Then there's Nikita Nesterov with a surprising season stat of scoring as many goals as he has assists. Sometimes life likes its balance.
On the other side of the red line, we've got goalkeepers for SKA St. Petersburg, well, let's just say, we got ourselves some hockey Schrödinger's cats because we literally have no information on them. No saves, no loss. They either had an invisible month or perhaps, they're perfect in their own mysterious way.
Their top players however, are no mystery. Valentin Zykov, for one, has been dropping pucks into nets like it's his day job - which I supposed technically it is. And then we have Tony DeAngelo, who seems to have taken the Hippocratic Oath of hockey: "First, do no goal-scoring." Eleven assists this season, but zero goals. The man values teamwork, if nothing else.
Looking at the past mashups between these hockey juggernauts, SKA St. Petersburg seems to have the upper hand (or glove, if you prefer hockey puns). The regular-season records also hint towards advantage 'St. Petersburg', considering that they've outperformed CSKA Moscow, if only just a bit.
Recent results also follow a similar tale; CSKA Moscow's performance has been a bit like a yo-yo on a faulty string, while SKA St. Petersburg managed to maintain a decent streak, despite a couple of hiccups.
So, given the evidence at hand, the prediction roulette spins and lands on...
Albert’s Prediction: SKA St. Petersburg by 2