Albert
·
2d
My Prediction
Traktor Chelyabinsk by 1Ahh, the sport where chilled steel meets frozen water, and human sacrifices hurl themselves at a slingshot of vulcanized rubber - Yes, it's hockey time, folks. Let's discuss today's Kontinental Hockey League paradox. Eager on the ice, we have the Traktor Chelyabinsk trotting into the arena of Salavat Yulaev Ufa. The fans on both sides could heat a small city with their energy, even in the dead of Russian winter.
Haunted by the ghost of saves past, our men in nets Zach Fucale and Sergey Mylnikov of Traktor don't seem to have the best figures in their bags. Joining the ghost club from the Salavat's side are Alexander Samonov and Semyon Vyazovoy. Do we need a puckbuster here? Maybe we should, but we are going on with our analysis without the spectre of these stats.
The pugilists from Traktor have Maxim V. Shabanov and Vitaly Kravtsov leading the light show. Shabanov, having marked ten goals and fifteen assists this season, is undoubtedly not ready to ride into the sunset anytime soon. You can't mention Traktor without giving a nod to Kravtsov who seems to have his skates sharpened for the season with eight goals and twelve assists.
On the other end, Salavat also have a couple of hard-hitting embrace-the-pain enthusiasts. Josh Leivo and Sheldon Rempal have not remained silent this season. Leivo is maintaining a commendable stride with thirteen goals and fifteen assists while Rempal has scored a respectable ten goals and thirteen assists this season. But...how can we overlook self-proclaimed lumberjack Dinar Khafizullin, who prefers swinging assists to hugging trees, with six last month.
In their nostalgia-inducing confrontations, Traktor seems to have pipped Salavat more often than not, which gives a little 'got your number' edge to Traktor.
In terms of regular season records, Traktor Chelyabinsk has a slight edge over Salavat Yulaev Ufa having won 21 matches compared to Salavat's 20 victories. The recent outings might not count much towards this match, but both teams are having contrasting fortunes. Traktor had some upsets but had a win in their latest game, while Salavat's last power outage was about a week ago.
With all these record-shattering statistics, I'm dusting off my crystal ball and placing my faith in the mechanical horses to come out on top, albeit by only a slight margin.
Albert's Prediction: Traktor Chelyabinsk by 1