Hockey: The Master is back. Game and physical form

Rates: Ak Bars victory in the first period for 2.20, total over 4.5 goals for 1.98, goal in each period for 1.92, goal in the first 9 minutes for 1.95, total less than 9.5 minor penalties for 1.62.

Ak Bars lost to SKA in the match for the Opening Cup, and therefore it is tempting to say that the unfortunate Minsk residents will fall under the hot hand of Kazan. “Bars” clearly didn’t deserve the 1:6 score, because the opponent didn’t show anything special and was definitely not three heads stronger than the hosts, but the team will have to react to such a slap in the face.

Ak Bars will again play the match with the Minsk team on their own ice. The prospect of starting the season with two defeats in front of his home stands is unlikely to please Zinetula Bilyaletdinov. After the defeat in the opening match, the coach apologized to the fans and noted that the entire team was ashamed of the result. It seems that the Kazan team will not have problems with motivation.

The Leopards have problems with injuries, but this factor is unlikely to seriously affect the balance of power. Perhaps the most dangerous fact is that goalkeeper Emil Garipov, who failed the game with SKA, will miss the meeting with Dynamo due to health problems. There are no questions about Alexander Sharychenkov’s readiness, but excessive fuss with goalkeepers at the start of the season could deprive the defense of balance and cost Kazan 1-2 extra goals.

Actually, the main hopes of the “Bisons” are in one way or another connected with the problems of the opponent. Otherwise, everything is more or less clear: the Minsk team strengthened itself well in the off-season, but the Ak Bars squad is noticeably stronger. Taking into account the advantage of their ice and the great desire of the Kazan team to recoup the humiliating 1:6 score, the chances of the Belarusian team are slim.

The victory of Ak Bars in regular time costs a modest 1.60, and therefore those who want to increase the coefficient should think about several options. The first is a classic handicap. For the success of the Kazan team with a handicap (-1) they give 1.80, and a handicap (-1.5) goes for a quite nice 2.10.

The second option is to bet on an aggressive start by the Leopards. After a sensitive defeat and a conversation in the locker room, the hosts will most likely take to the ice in an excited state and will try to get down to business from the first minutes. “Ak Bars’ victory in the first period” is valued at 2.20, “a goal in the first 9 minutes” - at 1.95.

Those who like to take risks should think about the options “the hosts win based on the results of the first period and the match” and “the hosts win with a total of more than 4.5 goals,” each of which costs 2.60. The absence of Garipov and the anger of the Kazan team suggest thoughts of a productive meeting. In principle, “total over 4.5 goals” for 1.98 and “goal in each period” for 1.92 look great in such conditions.

Finally, you can think about betting on deletions. In two head-to-head meetings between these teams last season, the referees issued seven and four minor penalties, respectively. “Total less than 9.5 minor penalties” goes for 1.62, TM 8.5 - for 2.05.

"HC Sochi" - "Admiral"

Rates: total less than 4.5 goals for 2.02, total more than 8.5 minor penalties for 1.73.

It is clear that “Admiral” has an extremely weak composition and murky leadership, but rumors about the death of the Far Easterners are greatly exaggerated. The team had a pretty good pre-season and is ready to consistently punish relaxed opponents for underestimating. Of course, the chances for the playoffs here are microscopic, but in general, Sergei Svetlov’s team is stronger than it seems at first glance.

Meanwhile, the “leopards” took last places in both the home and St. Petersburg tournaments. Yes, this is just a preseason and there’s definitely no point in drawing serious conclusions from it, but Sochi definitely gave them a reason to tense up with their summer results.

In the four previous meetings between Sochi and Admiral, the owner of the ice invariably won. The second trend is that five out of seven matches between these teams turned out to be grassroots matches. “Sochi” is not playing very well as the first number and, it seems, is not in the best condition, and the “Sailors” have practically no one to score, so you shouldn’t expect an abundance of goals. “Total less than 4.5 goals” goes for 2.02.

If you wish, you can play it safe and take TM 5 washers for 1.65. The coefficient is modest, but it is still better than the home team’s victory in regular time (1.60). Otherwise, it is better to refrain from betting on the outcome: the physical readiness of Sochi at the start of the season raises questions, so Admiral is quite capable of getting into the game. Perhaps the only thing that looks good is “the home team wins by 1-2 goals” for 2.80.

Fans of betting on statistics should take a closer look at the options “total over 8.5 minor penalties” for 1.73 and even “total over 1.5 goals in the power play” for 2.33. As a rule, matches between these teams turn out to be uncompromising.

Vladimir Krikunov left a mark in the history of both Dynamo Moscow and Ak Bars. How will the next return of the master of the coaching department turn out?

The 4th of October. 19:30. Hockey. KHL. Regular season. Dynamo Moscow - Ak Bars. VTB Ice Palace Stadium (Moscow). Live broadcast on the KHL TV channel.

The performance of Dynamo Moscow this season is appalling. With the arrival of Valery Shantsev as general director, the team received a significant increase in funding. Indeed, the “blue and white” strike line is performing well. Thus, the team realizes 34.3% of the majority. But in other aspects of the game, Dynamo look terrible.

The last straw for the Dynamo management in relation to Vladimir Vorobyov was the defeat from Traktor. The Muscovites suffered their fourth defeat in a row, and for the second time in a row they failed to score. Now Vladimir Krikunov will save the team. This appointment seems controversial to say the least. High physical activity, toughness and integrity are not always what star hockey players like.

Ak Bars did not start as successfully as last season, but consistently maintains its place in the top four of the Eastern Conference. Moreover, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov's charges have gained very good momentum in recent weeks. The team from Tatarstan won five victories in six matches. Yes, often successes were achieved through labor and were ensured by a unit of legionnaires, but is this really so important in the fall?

Ak Bars’ numbers can hardly be called championship figures. Yes, the team scores three goals per game, but in the majority they only convert 15% of their attempts. In the minority, Kazan neutralizes only four out of five attempts. Partly, the Leopards’ problems are related to the controversial rotation from Zinetula Bilyaletdinov, and partly to the injuries of the leaders. However, we repeat that the team is now on the rise.

Statistics indicate a serious advantage for Ak Bars. In seven previous matches, the club from Tatarstan won five victories in regulation time and drew twice more. If we talk about the situation with injuries, it is stable for the teams. Alexander Svitov still cannot help the Bars. Dynamo will not be able to count on Maxim Afinogenov, Vladislav Efremov and Andrei Mironov in the next game.

Estimated team compositions:

"Dynamo MSK": Goalkeeper: Alexander Eremenko;

Defenders: Miika Koivisto, Juuso Hietanen, Andrey Mironov, Vitaly Menshikov, Andrey Kuteikin, Ilya Nikulin, Egor Zaitsev, Dmitry Vishnevsky;

Forwards: Dmitry Kagarlitsky, Vadim Shipachev, Patrick Zakrisson, Evgeny Moser, Mix Indrashis, Daniil Tarasov, Vladimir Bryukvin, Nikita Komarov, Andrey Alekseev, Dmitry Sidlyarov, Anton Zlobin, Dmitry Moiseev;

"AK Bars": Goalkeeper: Alexander Sharychenkov;

Defenders: Andrey Markov, Andrey Pedan, Mikhail Sidorov, Albert Yarullin, Paul Postma, Nikita Lyamkin, Rafael Batyrshin;

Forwards: Stanislav Galiev, Artem Lukoyanov, Pavel Padakin, Anton Lander, Mikhail Glukhov, Jiri Sekach, Danis Zaripov, Vladimir Tkachev, Justin Azevedo, Alexander Burmistrov, Alexey Potapov Rob Klinkhammer, Vladislav Kara, Daniil Voevodin;

Conclusion:

“Dynamo”, with courage, is able to spring a surprise and beat the champion. Vladimir Krikunov is a specialist who knows how to motivate. Moreover, the master has a debt to the three-time winner of the Gagarin Cup. Well, in terms of composition, Dynamo is not much inferior. Therefore, we consider it possible to play for a 1(0) handicap. Bookmaker Leon estimates this event with odds of 1.93.

At the Megasport Arena stadium in Moscow, Dynamo hockey players will have to endure a test on their ice against Ak Bars. Both teams currently occupy polar opposite places in the standings. Moscow hockey players currently occupy only 10th place in the Western Conference, with 9 points. Vladimir Vorobyov’s team did not play their last matches in the league very successfully, losing four matches to such teams as Traktor 1:0, Avtomobilist 1:0, lost 6:5 to Metallurg, etc. The hosts’ defensive line looks very weak, having conceded as much as 40 washers, which was the reason for such a low occupied space.

AK Bars

Ak Bars is not doing badly so far. The team confidently ranks 4th in the neighboring Eastern Conference, with 18 points. Zinetul Bilyaletdinov’s team played their last matches in the championship at the proper level, achieving 4 confident victories over such teams as Admiral 4:2, Amur 3:1, etc., stumbling only in the confrontation against Kunlun. The attack line of the guests looks very cool, they managed to score 38 goals in the first ten days of the championship, which became the key to a huge number of victories for the club.

Forecast

As a result, the favorite emerges in this pair of teams and these are the Ak Bars hockey players. Their advantage in this match is unlikely to be huge, but they will be able to take advantage of the Muscovites' defensive problems. Plus, the statistics of personal matches also speaks in favor of the guests, who have managed to never lose to Dynamo over the last five matches, defeating the latter three times in regular time with such results as 6:2, 1:2, 4:1. My forecast is a clear victory for the guests.

Today, October 4, Dynamo Moscow will host Ak Bars Kazan on the ice of the Megasport Sports Palace as part of the next game day of the Continental Hockey League of the 2018/2019 season.

The central meeting of the game day in the KHL awaits us, because some of the most famous teams in domestic hockey will meet on Moscow ice. And if Ak Bars is consistently among the contenders for the main trophy of the season from year to year, then the blue and white have long lost their status as a League giant. However, in the off-season, Dynamo Moscow underwent dramatic changes both in the management and coaching staff, and in the composition. The summer transfer campaign of HC Dynamo instilled optimism among the club's fans; famous and experienced hockey players were signed - Vadim Shipachev, Dmitry Kagarlitsky, Maxim Afinogenov, Miks Indrasis, Miika Koivisto, Patrick Zakrisson and others. Definitely, this transfer company was one of the most high-profile in the offseason in the Western Conference. In addition, a person close to the club, Valery Shantsev, who already managed the club in the early 90s, returned to the management, and from 1994 to 2006 was the president of the Moscow Hockey Federation.

The team entered the new season with high hopes and lofty goals, but at the moment, after 13 games played, the Muscovites are even outside the playoff zone. They occupy only 10th position in the Western Conference, with only 9 points out of 26 possible. Changes on the coaching bridge in the Dynamo camp were planned almost from the very start of the season, as the team suffered 5 defeats in 6 opening games. The last straw in the cup of patience of the club management was the away defeat on October 1 from Chelyabinsk Traktor with a score of 0-1. This was followed by the appointment of the famous specialist Vladimir Krikunov to the post of head coach of the team, who, like Shantsev, is no stranger to the club (he coached the team from 2004 to 2007 and won the championship with it in the 2004/05 season).

An interesting fact is that the head coaches of the opposing teams coached both clubs over the years. Krikunov coached Kazan Ak Bars during the Super League in the 1999/00 seasons (reached the final), 2000/01 and part of the 2001/02 season, as well as in the 2011/12 season within the KHL. The head coach of Ak Bars is actually a Dynamo graduate, as a player he played 588 matches for the blue and white in the USSR championship. He worked as a head coach at the Moscow club from 2001 to 2004. This fact is a certain highlight of the match, introducing an additional share of integrity.

As for the visiting team, the Kazan team traditionally rolls into the season slowly and measuredly, leaving their strength for the more important parts of the long season. At the moment, Ak Bars is in 4th position in the Eastern Conference, having earned 18 points out of a possible 26 and won 8 wins in 13 games. It is worth noting that the team has already conceded 36 goals this season (2.77 on average per game), which is not typical for them; usually the Kazan team has always been distinguished by its confident play in defense. At the same time, this statistics has its own explanation - in the off-season, the leading defenders who helped it win the Gagarin Cup - Atte Ohtamaa and Vasily Tokranov - left the team. In addition, the team's main goalkeeper Emil Garipov was absent for a long time due to injury. He returned to action only for the last game with Admiral, conceding only 2 goals in this meeting and repelling 94.3% of shots.

Ingredients information:

Dynamo Moscow. Injured: Afinogenov (for example, 10 games, 4+1, useful coefficient -2), Efremov (for example, 5 games, 0 points, useful coefficient 0), An. Mironov (def., this season didn't play). Only the 39-year-old veteran Afinogenov, who scored 4 goals and gave 1 assist in 10 games played, can be considered a significant loss. But at the same time, his absence should not greatly affect the attacking power of the blue and whites; after all, Kagarlitsky and Shipachev usually set the tone in the attack line.

AK Bars. Injured: Svitov (eg, did not play this season). The team leaders are all in line and ready to play in the upcoming match. It is worth noting that Zaripov did not take part in the last games; the coaching staff is giving him time to recuperate. It is not yet known whether he will take to the ice of Megasport today, but there are enough masters in the Kazan team even without Danis.

Likely starting goalkeepers:

Dynamo Moscow: Bocharov. Played in the last two games, 90.6% OB. In fact, the chances of Bocharov or Eremenko coming out are 50/50. It is difficult to predict who the new team coach will put in the frame. Bocharov took part in 7 games of the season, and Eremenko in 8.

AK Bars: Garipov. Emil played in the last game against Admiral, reflecting 94.29% of shots. The chances of him appearing in the visitors' goal from the starting whistle are estimated at 70%. I think that in a game against a difficult opponent, Bilyaletdinov will entrust the last line to Garipov, since it was he who helped the team out last season and helped it win the Gagarin Cup.

Game and physical form:

Dynamo Moscow suffered 4 defeats in a row in the last games, the Muscovites' opponents were Barys (d., 2-3 OT), Metallurg Mg (d., 5-6 OT), Avtomobilist (d., 0-1), Traktor (d. ., 0-1). In addition, they have 8 losses in their last 10 games. The upcoming game will be the first home game after a 3-game road series. The last game in this series was against Traktor on October 1, so the team had enough time to recover.

Ak Bars have won 5 of their last 6 games. Among the opponents were Torpedo (g., 4-2), Neftekhimik (g., 2-1), Siberia (d., 3-2), Kunlun (d., 3-4), Amur (d., 3-1 ) and Admiral (d. 4-2). Frankly speaking, there were no top teams in this period, but the Kazan club unexpectedly lost in the home game with Kunlun. The team is now starting an away series after a 4-game home series. The last game took place on September 30, therefore, it seems that the Leopards will be able to approach the game with Dynamo in optimal physical shape.

Head-to-head team meetings:

Last season, Dynamo beat Ak Bars at home with a score of 3-2 in shootouts, but lost heavily in the away game in Kazan 2-6. Both meetings took place in 2017. This year the teams met only once, playing a friendly game on February 20, when Dynamo won in overtime 4-3.

Efficiency of special teams and game discipline:

Dynamo Moscow ranks 3rd in the League in power play (34.1% conversion), and last in the League in shorthanded play (58.3% neutralization). As can be seen from these statistical indicators, the team has a large imbalance in the team’s play - excellent play in the majority and very weak when playing in the minority. It is unlikely that Vladimir Krikunov will be able to improve the game in the minority in a couple of days, so it will be important for the team to play as correctly as possible and not allow unjustified deletions. By the way, the team is in the middle of the League in terms of penalty time.

Ak Bars is 19th in the League in power play (15.0%), 14th in shorthanded play (80.4%). The game of special teams, as can be seen from the indicators, is not the strength of the current Ak Bars. The coaching staff has a lot to work on in these components. The team is 7th in the League in penalty time and has an average of almost 12 penalty minutes per game. If the Kazan players play just as roughly in the upcoming game, then serious problems may await them, given the excellent play of the Muscovites in the majority.

Conclusion: Ak Bars is still far from its optimal form, that's a fact. The team achieves difficult victories even over inferior opponents, sometimes even losing points in games with outsiders. Dynamo Moscow is one of the main disappointments at the start of the season. The blue and white have not yet lived up to the expectations placed on them and have not used their full potential. However, the appointment of a new head coach should psychologically shake up the team and give it a powerful boost in the game against the Kazan club. It should also be taken into account that players will need to re-prove their stay on the team. Well, players who don’t get much playing time will have an excellent chance to prove their worth to the new coach. It is the motivation factor that will be decisive in the upcoming game. In addition, the confident play of Dynamo's power play and the rough play of Ak Bars also gives reason to expect a difficult game for the guests. Moreover, the Kazan team will most likely be defended by Emil Garipov, who played only 2 games this season and recently recovered from injury. Taking into account the above, I expect the ice owners to play actively in attack and demonstrate their strongest qualities.

Prediction: The hosts' individual total is more than 2 for odds of 1.63 in BC Olimp.

In 13 matches of the new season, Dynamo won only three games, which led to a change in the team's head coach. Will Vladimir Krikunov be able to make a successful debut at the helm of the “blue and white”? We believe that with an experienced coach, the first pancake will come out lumpy.

Team form

It's finished! After an unsuccessful last season, during which Dynamo did not reach the KHL playoffs for the first time in history, as well as a disastrous starting period of the current championship, the Moscow club decided to change its head coach! The Blue and White were led by the legendary Vladimir Krikunov, who swore that last season would be the last in his career, but something went wrong... Adding to the comedy is the fact that the former head coach of Dynamo remains on the coaching staff along with Oleg Orekhovsky, Alexander Stepanov and Vitaly Eremeev. By the way, all four of Vladimir Krikunov’s assistants were hockey players from Dynamo, which won gold in the Russian Championship in 2005. After 13 years, that “dream team” should lift the team from the bottom of the standings. At the moment, the Moscow club has only nine points after 13 matches and is on a streak of four defeats in a row.

In Kazan they react to any kind of change with a degree of irony. 15 years have passed since the Dynamo championship, during which Vladimir Krikunov managed to work in addition to the Moscow club three times in Neftekhimik, Ak Bars, Barys, in the national teams of Kazakhstan and Belarus, as well as in Avtomobilist. All this time, Zinetula Bilyaletdinov has been working at Ak Bars, who was sent from the capital of Tatarstan to the Russian national team for only one Olympic cycle. The trust of the management of the Kazan club resulted in four championships for Ak Bars under Bilyaletdinov. This season, the mentor does not reduce the demands on his players, which allows the Leopards to occupy fourth place in the Eastern Conference standings. In the last matches, the Kazan team has gained excellent momentum and has five wins in six games.

History of personal meetings

Within the KHL, the teams held 28 head-to-head meetings with each other, in which they won 14 victories. Last season, the rivals met twice: in Moscow Dynamo was stronger - 3:2, and in Kazan the Ak Bars players celebrated the victory - 6:2.

Betting options

The first game under the leadership of a new coach is an emotional event. Players will immediately try to show all their positive qualities, changes and rearrangements will begin to occur, and all this will lead to some confusion. In such a situation, an interesting betting option is an early goal. Either Dynamo will fulfill its desire to score as quickly as possible, or Ak Bars will catch the opponent in this desire. Bookmaker 1xStavka offers to bet on the fact that the first goal in the match will be scored before the 10th minute of the match with odds of 1.88.

Ak Bars is a surprisingly effective team in the current championship. Zinetula Bilyaletdinov's team scored 38 goals in 13 matches (2.92 on average per game) and conceded 36 times (2.77 on average per game). Dynamo also played 13 matches in which the blue and white players scored 30 goals (2.31 on average per game) and conceded 40 times (3.08 on average per game). Considering that Dynamo lost the last two matches with a score of 1:0, they should “break through” when returning to home ice. A good option for the match is to bet on a total of more than 4.5 goals in the match for 1.82 in the Winline bookmaker.

As for the winner of the meeting, Ak Bars is the undisputed favorite. Yes, the team coach has changed at Dynamo, which will definitely improve the result, but this takes time. Vladimir Krikunov does not have this time, so all improvements will occur only through games. At the moment, the Kazan club looks like a much more complete team, which should win the upcoming match.