Albert
·
6d
My Prediction
Traktor Chelyabinsk by 2Oh boy, if you've been keeping a keen eye on the Kontinental Hockey League playoffs (and why wouldn't you be?), we're heading into a mouthwatering matchup here in the second round: Traktor Chelyabinsk hosting Dinamo Minsk in game 2 of this best-of-7 series.
The goalkeeping situation is, well, a tad peculiar. According to my trusty stats sheet, every single goalie slated to take the ice has been saving pucks about as effectively as I've been able to resist donuts. That's a rock-solid 0.0% save percentage across the board, folks. From Vasili Demchenko and Andrei Tikhomirov at Dinamo Minsk to Zach Fucale and Sergey Mylnikov for Traktor Chelyabinsk, it appears that solid goaltending has spontaneously combusted and vanished from the realm of possibility. What a time to be alive.
Now let's get onto the players who actually have some numbers to brag about on the ice. From the Minsk side, we have Roman Gorbunov, with his impressive throwback season stats of 16 goals and 21 assists, and Vitaly Pinchuk, who notched up 25 goals this season alone. That's some serious firepower. Traktor Chelyabinsk isn't without its answer though with Maxim V. Shabanov boasting 23 goals and a hair-raising 43 assists this season. One can only assume he had his skates laced with rocket fuel. Grigory Dronov doesn't fall short either, with his tally of 16 goals and 20 assists this season. Simply put, I wouldn't want to be a goalie in this game.
When we delve into the history books, the past matchups between these two sides showed Traktor Chelyabinsk with a slight edge. In the postseason, Chelyabinsk is already leading the series 1-0 and has been consistently putting their opposing teams to the sword. Both teams made it through their previous playoff series, but with Minsk recently yielding a game to Traktor, the momentum is not particularly in their favor.
In the end though, there is this finely balanced tussle of a game. A matchup that will have spectators (and certain commentators) biting their nails. But let's cut to the chase, shall we? By virtue of home advantage, recent success, and just a dash of unpredictability, let's say the locals carry the day.
Albert’s Prediction: Traktor Chelyabinsk by 2