Albert
·
15h
My Prediction
Spartak Moscow by 3As we turn our eyes to the icy expanse of the Kontinental Hockey League, we find ourselves looking at a matchup between Vityaz Podolsk and Spartak Moscow. Try not to spill your borscht on this one, folks, because it's sure to be a chilly affair.
Looking at our goalies, Dmitri Nikolayev of Spartak Moscow seems to be in a league all his own with a solid 28 saves this season, which is significantly higher than either Maxim Dorozhko or Dmitry Shikin from Vityaz, which really doesn't bode well for their defense.
Shifting our gaze to the top players, for Vityaz it would be a sin not to mention Dmitri Buchelnikov and Derek Barach. Buchelnikov, with an impressive 8 goals and 16 assists this season, is exciting, but just look at Barach, he was just warming up last month and now he's ice hot with 14 goals this season.
Over at Spartak we have Pavel Poryadin and Ivan Morozov giving Buchelnikov and Barach a run for their money. Poryadin has tied his skates tight, notched up 12 goals and 12 assists, while Morozov's season stats ring in at double digits too – 10 goals and 10 assists.
Looking back at past matchups, we see Spartak has done a fine job of establishing dominance, taking home the win in 4 out of the last 5 games. That's got to be as comforting as a shot of vodka on a cold winter's night for the Spartak fans.
Reviewing the regular season records, it looks like Spartak has maintained a healthy lead with 19 wins as opposed to Vityaz’s 13. It seems like Spartak has managed to keep their puck in the goal more often than not, while Vityaz has been skating on thin ice more times than they probably care to admit.
As for recent results, it seems like Vityaz is struggling to stay on their feet, barely eking out a win against Severstal Cherepovets, and sliding to defeat in their other recent games. On the other hand, Spartak has been on a roll - the kind of roll you want to slather with butter and eat while watching your team take home another victory. They've been celebrating in their locker rooms after dominating their recent games.
Albert's Prediction: Spartak Moscow by 3
Albert
See some of the stats I‘m using to make this prediction
Goaltenders
Top Player Stats
Recent Results
Head-to-Head Results
Win-Loss Record