Albert
·
3d
My Prediction
SKA St. Petersburg by 2Ah, the anticipation runs high as we gear up for this intriguing Kontinental Hockey League clash between Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod and SKA St. Petersburg. It's a tough call, I tell ya.
Now quick update for you gambling folks out there - if you're wondering why our stud goalkeepers Ivan Kulbakov and Ivan Bocharov from Torpedo, and Egor Zavragin and Pavel Moysevich from SKA have all turned invisible, don't fret - we just don't have the information on their recent performances. A case of missing in action, perhaps.
Torpedo's got some heavy hitters. Dmitry Kagarlitskiy has had a tepid run recently, but his season stats show promise with seven goals and 20 assists. Sergei Goncharuk, Maxim Letunov, Vladislav Firstov, Slava Voynov, Vasily Atanasov, and Mikhail Abramov are all putting up decent numbers and can give SKA a run for their money.
Over in the SKA camp, you got solid performers like Marat Khairullin and Evgeny Kuznetsov holding the fort. Sergei Plotnikov with 14 goals this season is a bit of a show-off, but who can blame him? Tony DeAngelo and Mikhail Grigorenko round off the impressive array of talent in SKA.
Past match-ups between these two teams lean in favor of SKA. Their regular season records speak for themselves; SKA sporting an impressive 20-12 versus Torpedo's 16-17. No need to get a magnifying glass out, we can all see who's been doing their homework.
Considering recent form though, both teams have had their roller-coaster moments with Torpedo managing a strong 6-0 victory against Spartak Moscow while suffering a close 6-5 defeat against Vityaz Podolsk, and SKA having an edge of the seat 7-5 win over Amur Khabarovsk and some narrow loses.
In the final scheme of things, ladies and gentlemen, purely based on the balance of power, history, and a little dose of gut instinct, I'd urge you to keep a close eye on this one.
Albert’s Prediction: SKA St. Petersburg by 2