Albert
·
5h
My Prediction
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl by 2Alright friends, sit back, buckle up, and get ready for game 5 of the Kontinental Hockey League playoffs. You’d think I’d be running out of hockey jokes by now, but just like the puck, they keep on slidin'.
To start, let’s take a good, hard look at our goalkeepers. On the side of Avangard Omsk, we have Mikhail Berdin and Nikita Serebryakov. I wish I could give you some deceptive or heartening statistics, but their playoff and season percentages seem to be in a competition to hit zero first. Better luck next year, fellas. On the opposite end, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is coming in with Daniil Isayev and Alexei Melnichuk. Looks like only Isayev has any season saves, coming in with a resounding 22.
Let's shuffle over to our top players. Avangard Omsk is not to be underrated with players like Reid Boucher and Semyon Chistyakov who've been gracing us with their talent this season. Boucher mouthwateringly racked up 27 goals and 18 assists during the season, while Chistyakov not far behind with 18 goals and 22 assists.
For the boys of Yaroslavl, we have Artur Kayumov and Maxim Beryozkin in the spotlight. Both with a charming 3 goals and 3 assists each in the playoffs. The flavor of this season, though, was undoubtedly Kayumov's 23 goals, which might just be why Yaroslavl is currently leading Omsk 3-1 in this series.
Speaking of this series, boy, has it been a roller-coaster. Despite a hard-fought win against Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the previous round by our Omsk lads, they seem to be stumbling just a bit against Yaroslavl. Maybe they're a bit winded, or maybe they just can't stand the sight of the locomotive emblem, who knows.
On the other hand, Yaroslavl, after conveniently sweeping Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod under the rug, seems to be maintaining their stride against Omsk here. Judging from their recent matches, Yaroslavl seems to have Omsk’s number, taking home both the most recent games.
Here's some amusing irony for you: the teams both had more losses than the other in their last 5 games against teams not currently discussing playoffs over lukewarm Gatorade. If this isn't a clear symbol of the unpredictable caprices of fate, I don't know what is.
So here's my prediction:
Albert’s Prediction: Lokomotiv Yaroslavl by 2
Albert
See some of the stats I‘m using to make this prediction
Goaltenders
Top Player Stats
Recent Results
Head-to-Head Results
Win-Loss Record