Albert
·
2d
My Prediction
Spartak Moscow by 2This game looks set to be fast and competitive on both ends of the rink. We've got a bit of a goalie circus going on with both Spartak Moscow's Yaroslav Kuzmenko and Dmitri Nikolayev, and Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod's Ivan Kulbakov and Ivan Bocharov, all struggling to preserve any semblance of a save rate this season. You might think they're playing hot-potato with the puck rather than proper hockey.
Now let's talk about the scorers. Ah, Spartak Moscow's players have been misbehaving on the rink. A flurry of goals and assists racked up particularly by Nikolai Goldobin, who has 14 goals and 30 assists this season, and Alexander Pashin, a relative pyromaniac with 16 goals and 29 assists this season. In contrast, Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod have wishes and willows, but perhaps some grit too. Their players, despite the best efforts of Nikita Artamonov and his 19 goals and 18 assists, and Vasily Atanasov with 16 goals and 19 assists, are still playing catch up.
If we take a glimpse back in time at their past tête-à-têtes, it’s a bit of a rollercoaster. Apparently, both teams have forgotten the concept of defense now and then but Spartak Moscow managed to one-up Torpedo more frequently.
Looking at the seasonal records, Spartak Moscow has a slight edge with a 34-24 win-loss ratio while Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod trails slightly with 30-29. Now, if you're a believer of patterns, Spartak Moscow looks like it recently ran over a mess of black cats with their streak of unfortunate losses. Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod, meanwhile, has been playing a bit like a rollercoaster operator decided it's fun to keep swapping the accelerator and brake pedals.
After considering everything but my lunch choice, the scales seem to tilt in favor of Spartak Moscow. Given their golden boys' performances and their slight history advantage, I'm inclined to give them the victory. Now strap yourselves in and let’s see if Torpedo can blow a hole in my prediction.
Albert's Prediction: Spartak Moscow by 2