Metallurg Magnitogorsk vs Admiral Prediction 22 February 2026
🔊 The leader of the Kontinental Hockey League continues to test the underdogs. Following Barys and Amur, Admiral have arrived to face the 'Foxes'. The 'Sailors' finally secured a win against a team from the playoff eight. Will they build on this success, or is the outcome of the match already a foregone conclusion? We break down this KHL regular season game and offer a prediction for the February 22 match-up.
Head-to-Head
📊 Over the past three seasons, Metallurg and Admiral have faced off 11 times in the KHL: nine of those games went to the Ural club, while the Far Eastern side claimed two victories. Notably, Metallurg's winning streak in head-to-heads at their home arena stands at five games-the last time Admiral won at "Arena Metallurg" was more than three years ago, in January 2023.
Head-to-head statistics Metallurg Magnitogorsk - Admiral
Metallurg Magnitogorsk Team Overview
"Magnitka," true to their status as league leaders, are confidently marching towards victory in the regular season. Andrei Razin's squad has secured 7 wins in their last 9 games. In 8 of those contests, Metallurg have earned points. With a favorable turn of events, the "Foxes" could clinch the top spot in the East within the next ten days.
On home ice, Metallurg have triumphed in 12 of their last 13 games, recently defeating another Far East club, Amur (3-1). To complete a perfect record of 12 victories over lower-tier clubs (Admiral, Barys, Amur) this season, the "Foxes" need a win in their upcoming match.
In the game against Amur, Ilya Nabokov returned between the pipes for Magnitka, while Razin rested defenseman Makar Khabarov, replacing him with Danila Palivko. In the offensive lineup, 19-year-old Mikhail Fedorov was named the 13th forward.
Match Results: Metallurg Magnitogorsk
Admiral Vladivostok Team Overview
The club from Vladivostok snapped a six-game losing streak with an impressive away victory against Avtomobilist, securing a 5-2 win. For the first time since November, Admiral have defeated a top-8 team; over the past three months, the "Sailors" have managed only four victories against direct rivals in the battle to avoid finishing last.
Admiral are still struggling with this challenge, as Oleg Bratash's team sits at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. While they are slightly above Barys in terms of points lost, those missing points still need to be recovered. Interestingly, the Far Eastern side have won both of their recent away games-first in Astana at the end of January (5-2) and then in Yekaterinburg.
In the Ural match, Ivan Kulbakov returned to guard the net, while Nikita Efremov and Semyon Ibragimov were back in defense, and Nikita Tertyshny rejoined the attack. Defensemen Mario Grman and Alexander Shepelev, along with forwards Nikita Soshnikov and Pavel Shen, were left out of action.
Match Results: Admiral Vladivostok
⚡️ Leaders
Representing Metallurg among the top ten scorers in the KHL are the league's best playmaker Vladimir Tkachev (60 points, 11 goals and 49 assists) and the top scorer Roman Kantserov (56 points, 30 goals and 26 assists). Kantserov has been on the scoresheet in five of the last six games (2 goals and 3 assists), while Tkachev has been productive in three of four games since the "star" break (3 assists).
In Admiral, the battle for top scorer is between Libor Sulak (31 points, 10 goals and 21 assists) and Stepan Starkov (30 points, 12 goals and 18 assists). In three of the last four games, Kyle Olson, the leading sniper for the Primorye team with 18 goals, has been on target.
🥅 Goalies
Ilya Nabokov and Alexander Smolin are sharing goaltending duties for Metallurg almost equally. Nabokov is on a streak of five consecutive games with at least a 90% save percentage, while Smolin bounced back from a rough outing in Yekaterinburg with a strong performance in Astana (36 saves, 94.7% save percentage).
Adam Huska's return to the net in the Far East derby was short-lived as he quickly gave way to Ivan Kulbakov. Kulbakov didn't disappoint, making 25 saves against Avtomobilist (92.6%), marking his second-best performance since joining Admiral.
Editorial Prediction
Metallurg are already gearing up for the playoffs, where the league's top-scoring team will need to focus on their defense. Against the Eastern Conference's bottom teams in the 2025/26 season, Metallurg played 11 matches, winning each one while conceding more than two goals only three times.
This regular season, Admiral have managed to score five or more goals in just four games, and in three of their next four games, they couldn't score more than two goals. Together with Andrei Razin, we'll focus on defense and opt for Admiral's individual total goals under 2.
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Betting Tips: Metallurg Magnitogorsk - Admiral Vladivostok
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