SKA and CSKA faced the second military derby of the season with winning streaks, but still with different trajectories. Roman Rotenberg’s team has finally started to play and is feeling increasingly confident, and the Muscovites mask the crisis with victories over clubs from the bottom of the table. However, the classification of the teams is absolutely equal, they are immediate neighbors in the table, they have scored the same number of points and even the number of goals scored and conceded is almost identical.
Even now, when both clubs do not look like powerful giants, the military derby remains one of the main signs of the KHL, and we have the right to expect intensity, intrigue and fight from it until the last minutes.
Like in the Moscow match at the beginning of October, where SKA fought back twice and won in a close match. Before the match, Roman Rotenberg even called this confrontation the best hockey in Russia: “This is the best hockey in Russia, the best teams. Both teams have skill and play vibrant, cutting-edge hockey. This is the sign of our championship. We see a similar “Clásico” in other sports: “Barcelona” – “Real”, other similar games. “Both teams will look to achieve their best performance of the season today.”
The teams started cautiously, without rushing, but perhaps in the first minutes the guests were more active and more frequently looked for approaches to Nikita Serebryakov’s goal. A great moment was created by Grigorenko and Kamenev, who finished the puck from the air when everyone else had lost sight of it, then Plotnikov made a dangerous shot, but missed.
SKA gradually increased its momentum and finally took the lead. Khairullin was able to open the scoring, put Fedotov on the ice, first launched a spin from the penalty spot and then was the first to finish. The hosts’ first line made a powerful change, the second took the attacking momentum and Vasily Glotov opened the scoring in the match.
First, he beat Dietz on the flank, rolled toward the goal and shot from an acute angle: Fedotov deflected the shot smoothly and the puck went to CSKA. But at the exit of the zone, Alistrov entered the fight, scratched the puck and passed to Glotov, who was already in a much more advantageous position to shoot and did not miss.
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While CSKA was digesting the lost puck, Glotov could well have scored a double, and the end of the period was also in the hands of St. Petersburg, but in the second half the guests again increased their activity, even managing to play in power. play, but after his end, Andrei Chivilev, who lasted two minutes, completely recovered from his mistake with the goal. Once again Fedotov did not play in the most successful way, although his teammates helped him by allowing a loss at the exit of the zone. Also worth highlighting is Alistrov, who directed both SKA goals: it was he who intercepted the puck and passed it to Chivilev.
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A completely bleak picture emerged for CSKA, and Valentin Zykov soon crushed Poltapov, one of the best players on the team today, on the board. Prokhor could not stand for a long time and was carried off the ice by his arms. Looking ahead, we note that the striker soon returned to the game, avoiding a serious injury. A true survivor, because the blow seemed terrible.
Video rights belong to KHL LLC. You can watch the video on the KHL website.
This episode gave CSKA a great opportunity: Zykov received a well-deserved expulsion for a dirty trick for the rest of the game, but the guests did not take advantage of the five minutes of the majority. SKA not only defended calmly, but also managed to escape the counterattack.
With a two-goal lead, SKA played comfortably. CSKA, of course, tried to motivate themselves to come back, but could not surprise their rival. I must admit that CSKA still played for the goal, especially in the last six or seven minutes, and in the end they really scored, but it was too late: a minute and a half before the siren sounded. The current champion generally seemed helpless: there were too many errors and errors, both goals were “brought” to themselves. If sufficient strength cannot be mustered to deal with an irritant like SKA, then it is too early to talk about a way out of the crisis. SKA wins the second military derby of the season. It’s debatable whether it was Russia’s best hockey or not, but Rotenberg should definitely be pleased with the result.
