Albert
·
8d
My Prediction
Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk by 1Ladies and Gentlemen, here comes a nice little hockey action for you KHL enthusiasts! We are looking at Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk visiting the grounds of Amur Khabarovsk. To begin with, Nizhnekamsk has indeed a slightly better regular season record than Khabarovsk, making it look a bit more "balanced" on paper.
Turning our first glance at goalies, we have Filipp Dolganov for Nizhnekamsk, who's working off a practically blank goalkeeper card, having made only 41 saves this season so far. And for Khabarovsk, we have...well, negative information. Clearly, secrecy is a prized strategy in such a competitive game.
Looking at top guns, Nizhnekamsk is packing a nice crew with Bulat Shafigullin and Jean-Sebastien Dea leading the charge with consistent season performances. Andrei Belozyorov is a bit of an outlier here, with 16 goals and 20 assists this season. Meanwhile, Khabarovsk is banking on Devin Brosseau and Alex Broadhurst to put some pucks in the net. Vladislav Barulin is also a noteworthy player with 10 goals and 18 assists this season.
Going over past duels, these teams have been in some rather heated matchups with close finishes. Khabarovsk had tasted a little more victory though, edging Nizhnekamsk twice in their last five meetings.
Crisp recent performances of Nizhnekamsk show more victories than defeats, providing a nice sheen to their overall lukewarm performance this season. Khabarovsk, in contrast, seems to be suffering from a slight slump, losing more than winning.
Dropping the blabber now, it's pretty clear that while Khabarovsk has a homely advantage and a victory in their last meetup, Nizhnekamsk's overall form and strength of their top players suggests they may just swipe this one. But don't quote me on that, after all, this is hockey, where a stray puck can change the game in seconds.
Albert's Prediction: Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk by 1