Forecast: 1-3
At Magnitogorsk Metallurg, the medals are already in your pocket. Even in case of defeat, he will receive bronze and complete the task for the season, improving last year. This can relax players a bit. But surely they will bring to their senses the amount of bonuses for reaching the final. Omsk has a serious loss - Kuryanov. And yet the worst selection of defenders and goalkeepers. And then, it’s not endless for Magnitogorsk to lose to Vanguard. So the Urals must finally win. Why not in four matches?
Expert
Oleg Orekhovsky: “Magnitogorsk will be stronger”
- No one knows who will win this pair. Maybe, you know?
- Not. The odds are the same for the teams. Here, who is more lucky. But the psychological advantage of Omsk.
- Why is this?
- So they knocked Metallurg into the playoffs for three consecutive years.
- Omsk also starts on its site. Also an advantage?
- Well I do not know. How was it two years ago? Two houses lost?
- I don’t remember like that on the move.
- However, no - I'm lying. Magnitogorsk won twice on its site, and Omsk on its own.
- So there will be an advantage?
- No, i guess. For example, in the year of lockout, how was it, remember? “Magnitogorsk” led the house, but Sushinsky equalized at the very end of the third period, and a minute before the end of overtime, Jagr scored a winning goal.
- So there will be an advantage?
- Yes, no one knows.
- Are these teams similar in game?
“I would not say that.” “Metallurg” shows more power hockey.
- It's good?
- But it doesn’t matter. The winner is the one who least makes mistakes in defense.
- And who has better defense?
- It seems to me that Metallurg has.
- And whose goalkeeper is stronger?
- At Metallurg.
- So will Metallurg win?
- Hard to say.
On a note
* Before the first visit to Omsk, Metallurg hockey players were forced to drop three young hockey players, a cameraman and translator Dave King, from the plane. The plane was overloaded.
* In the season, the team once won, another meeting ended in a draw. The difference between the pucks is 7-7.
* In all three matches, the gates of Vanguard were defended by Alexander Fomichev. He is the leader of the playoffs in the category of “goalkeeper reliability”, missing 0.95 goals per game. Travis Scott in third place - 1.35.
* The head coach of Metallurg Fedor Kanareikin did not lose the Vanguard this season.
* 16 Avangard players scored points in meetings with Metallurg. Two points in the account of Alexander Popov and Vitaly Yachmenev.
* Nikolay Kulemin, Jan Marek and Denis Platonov scored three points each in meetings with Vanguard.
* After the matches of these teams, the coaches never criticized the referees.
Alexey Shevchenko