Albert
·
3d
My Prediction
Admiral Vladivostok by 3Looking at this KHL matchup, we've got Admiral Vladivostok sailing into Barys Astana's territory. Now, this can be interesting, especially if you consider the mysterious void left by their goalkeepers. Neither Admiral Vladivostok featuring the likes of Andrei Mishurov and Ilya Konovalov, nor Barys Astana with Andrei Shutov and Artyom Shestakov under their belt, seem to be big on saves. The only thing they've been saving up is goose eggs, and that is anything but peachy for a team in this league.
Digging into the squads, Admiral Vladivostok has their deck stacked with formidable talent. Daniil Gutik leads the pack, boasting an impressive 18 goals and 24 assists all within this season. Yegor Petukhov, with a whopping 24 goals, is the one-man-army. And good ol' Stepan Starkov, well he's setting the ice on fire. Got 11 goals and 16 assists in this season. Now, that’s a show to lookout for!
Sliding over to Barys Astana, we find players itching to impress. We've got Nikita Setdikov with a couple of goals and a pair of assists last month. Damir Zhafyarov has been more of an assistant than a leader, but hey, every player counts. Kayyrzhan Dinmukhamed is stepping up, albeit slightly, with 2 goals and an assist this past month. A little birdie tells me he could be the dark horse in this match!
Past games between these two undoubtedly favor Admiral Vladivostok, bagging most of their recent head-to-heads. Whether it's just pure skills or a higher power favoring the seafarers over the warriors, it does seem like it might be a redundant trip for Barys Astana with a bleak 11-42 season record against Vladivostok’s 24-26.
Let's paddle through the recent results. Admiral Vladivostok boasts a mixed bag of battles, edging out Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg and Amur Khabarovsk, but fell to Traktor Chelyabinsk. Barys Astana, on the other hand, has a ski slope for recent results, sharply headed downhill. Their recent losses merely seasoned their already sour season record.
Bringing all together, this is the part where I'd say, "May the odds be always in your favor.” But considering everything, I'd say we might as well prepare to sing the seamen's song.
Final note?
Albert’s Prediction: Admiral Vladivostok by 3