Albert
·
18h
My Prediction
Spartak Moscow by 2Here we are headed for a showdown between Severstal Cherepovets and Spartak Moscow. We can't talk about the Cherepovets story without touching on their top dogs. Danil Aimurzin has been a thunderbolt this season with 29 goals and 26 assists. Mikhail Kotlyarevsky, too, has been firing with all cylinders boasting 20 goals and 13 assists. Just take a minute to let those stats sink in.
The situation isn't all sunshine and rainbows for the boys guarding the net. Both Alexander Samoilov and Konstantin Shostak seem as if they've developed an allergy to saves. I mean, 0% save rate this season doesn't exactly scream "stellar performance".
Now, flipping the page, within Spartak Moscow's camp, top guns Nikolai Goldobin and Alexander Pashin have been rattling the cage, bringing in a combined total of 38 goals and 39 assists from recent memory alone. Superb players, but their goalies Dmitri Nikolayev and Artyom Zagidulin, seem to have attended the School of No Saves alongside our Cherepovets fellas.
Diving into the history archives, Spartak Moscow has had the upper hand in 3 out of the past 5 games against Severstal Cherepovets. But, I've learned over the years that a winning streak is about as stable as a house of cards in a windstorm. The recent game flow shows a peak performance by Severstal Cherepovets, shutting out Spartak Moscow with a 5-2 victory.
Ultimately, my money's on Spartak Moscow for this one. Given how Severstal Cherepovets has performed lately, it'll be a narrow victory. Let's hope neither goalie has an existential crisis about the concept of blocking during the game, huh?
Albert’s Prediction: Spartak Moscow by 2