Sibir Novosibirsk vs Barys Astana Prediction
🔊 Sibir Novosibirsk, under the guidance of their new head coach, will host Barys Astana on their home ice. These two Eastern Conference underdogs will face off to determine the stronger side. The hosts are embarking on a new era and aim to kick it off on a positive note. Meanwhile, the visitors will look to disrupt these plans, though they can't boast of any high-quality performances lately.
Head-to-Head
In the current regular season, these opponents have already faced off. Just a week ago, Barys triumphed over the Novosibirsk team on home ice with a 6-4 victory. Despite the high score, the clash was fiercely contested, with momentum shifting multiple times. The decisive moment came in the third period when the Kazakh players netted two unanswered goals.
H2H Stats Matches and Previous Teams Results
Sibir Novosibirsk Team Overview
The disastrous start to the season for the Novosibirsk team did not go unnoticed by the local management. This led to Vadim Epanchintsev stepping down as head coach. Vyacheslav Butsaev has taken over the reins, and the upcoming match will mark his debut on the bench. This change should be seen as an encouraging factor. The hosts need to turn the page and move forward. Their three consecutive losses with a total score of 9-15 are now in the past. The team has shown its potential before, and there's no doubt they can do it again.
Match Results: Sibir Novosibirsk
Barys Astana Team Overview
The club from Kazakhstan's capital continues to show inconsistency. After suffering four consecutive defeats, they managed a decent stretch by defeating Sibir (6-4) and Admiral (3-0). Solid results, but the schedule hasn't been kind to them. They were clearly unprepared for the clash with the reigning Gagarin Cup champions, Lokomotiv, losing 1-5. It's no exaggeration to say that Barys' head coach, Mikhail Kravets, has experimented with a vast array of line combinations without finding the optimal solutions. Ultimately, he has relegated many of the foreign players to the lower lines, likely due to a lack of motivation among the North American players.
Match Results: Barys Astana
🏒 Projected Lineups
Sibir: Domingue - Zhukov, Gordeev - Wilson, Tkachev, Soshnikov
Barys: Shield - Daniyar, MacCoshen - Simonov, Omirbekov, Savitsky
🥅 Goalies
Sibir's goaltender Louis Domingue has struggled in the KHL. He couldn't secure a spot on NHL rosters in North America, and it seemed this level would suit him better. However, it hasn't turned out that way-he's played six games with only an 89% save percentage.
Barys' goalie Adam Shield has recently joined the league but quickly secured a starting role. The American has lived up to expectations so far, boasting a 94% save percentage in four games. Although he couldn't stop Lokomotiv, no one managed to do that in the KHL last season.
Editorial Prediction
Changing the head coach is always a move of desperation, and in Novosibirsk, it was a necessary one. With reasonable financial resources, the local club had every right to expect better results, and their roster certainly allows for that potential. The key now is to properly structure their training and gameplay, especially their power play strategy. This could be the catalyst that leads the team to success, especially against a fitting opponent like Barys, who are far from being a dominant force in the East and are well within Novosibirsk's reach to defeat. Our pick is a Sibir victory in regulation time.
Betting Tips: Sibir Novosibirsk - Barys Astana
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