Power Dispute: how the KHL Regular Season started
Less than a week has passed since the start of the KHL regular season, and many unexpected results have already been recorded, as well as quite expected trends, on the basis of which some conclusions can already be drawn. Read more about the first impressions of the teams' game in the Izvestia article.
A good start for Barys and Amur
A few days after the start of the new season, it was a little surprising to see the league's absolute outsiders in the top four in the Eastern Conference. No one was ready for this. Amur entered the championship with a new head coach who had no high-level experience. Alexander Galchenyuk is a pleasant person to talk to, but his abilities as a specialist are not yet known. To understand what the Khabarovsk team will play, we need a longer timeframe. Based on the first matches, it can be concluded that here and now Amur lacks creative actions in a foreign zone. This is a solvable problem. But now the Far Easterners have a top goalkeeper. The chances of a place in the top eight with Maxim Dorozhko on paper should be good.
"Barys" is sensationally on the second line of the "East", although it is unlikely to stay there for long. In order to confidently score points over a long distance, the Kazakh team noticeably lacks skill. Stability will not be enough for Mikhail Kravets' wards. So far, Barys seems to be a rather uncomfortable opponent for any favorite who is able to create a miracle and win through dedication. Astana residents have enough motivation.
Traktor is not physically ready for the season
The late start of pre-season training did its job: Traktor suffered defeats in the two opening matches of the regular season, losing to Lokomotiv (1:2 B) and Barys (3:4 OT). The current functional state of Benoit Grou's team leaves much to be desired. The first victory in the new season was not so easy for Chelyabinsk residents, but already now the team has familiar features — it is the ability to mobilize at the right moment and take advantage of individual skills.
Your physical condition will get better after a while. The composition of Traktor on paper has not become weaker in comparison with the previous championship. The coaching staff knows how to use the available resources as soon as possible. At the moment, the Urals are on the first line of the "East". It will not be easy to keep her, given the current level of competitors. But there should be no doubt that Traktor will remain one of the main contenders for the Gagarin Cup.
Spartak cannot solve its defense problems
The defeat in the match against Dinamo Minsk (0:3) is quite significant. Spartak has a very weak defensive line by KHL standards, and the coaching staff is still unable to compensate for this omission. Against the background of a systemic rival, the red and white turned out to be powerless. At the same time, the pair of goalkeepers Zagidullin – Nikolaev does not look like a tandem that can pull out any moments and give confidence to the team.
In the summer, the management of the capital club did not strengthen its key positions. This is likely to lead to negative consequences from the point of view of the result. On paper, the Muscovites have become weaker in the offseason, and with the loss of Nikolai Goldobin, the team clearly lacks skill. Alexey Zhamnov needs to make bold moves in such a situation. Playing fun hockey, it will be difficult for Spartak to become one of the contenders for the trophy. And at least one experienced stay-at-home defender is vital for the red and white. There are not many options on the market yet.
SKA loses to lower-status rivals
If Spartak's problems can be linked to the defensive functionality, then SKA head coach Igor Larionov has more solid material in his hands. In the meantime, the difference in skill is not enough for Nevsky army men to beat rivals with lower status. Let's venture to assume that the coaching staff will play combination hockey over a long distance — the current selection of performers forces us to come to exactly this conclusion.
So far, the army is making a lot of mistakes in the middle zone, making dangerous counterattacks and not looking like a whole team. Something obviously needs to be done about the defensive game. Defeats from Shanghai (4-7) and Torpedo (2-3 OT) immediately pointed to the obvious problems of the Petersburgers. At the start of the regular season, SKA lost important points. In the future, Larionov's team will simply not be there. It will be possible to talk about the Professor's ability to work with star hockey players only after some time. Two matches are fundamentally not enough to draw bold and decisive conclusions.
Dynamo Moscow also started the season unsuccessfully, losing to Sochi (3:2B) and CSKA (6:2).
— There is no panic, there is only a reason to think about such results, — Artem Ilyenko, the striker of the capital's club, emphasized in a conversation with Izvestia. — We need to correct mistakes. If we lack something to win, it means we don't deserve them. Therefore, we need to work and work even harder. Improve discipline and defensive play, add aggression, and make better use of your chances. There is something to think about. I hope we'll fix all this by the next match. Any parallels with the bad start of last season? We don't think about it. We've dropped last season and are only thinking about the future. Now we have the next game ahead of us — we live only by it. But I hope that the recession won't last as long as it did a year ago. We have a series of matches ahead with very good fighting teams, which is a good test and a good incentive to get out of the current situation.
This week, the blue and white team will have matches with Metallurg and Avangard.
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