Ak Bars Kazan vs Lada Prediction 25 February 2026
🔊 It's the second clash in a week between these geographical neighbors who compete in different conferences. Just a week ago in Tolyatti, one of the Eastern leaders emerged victorious. How will the upcoming match between Ak Bars and Lada end? Let's break down this KHL regular season encounter and offer a prediction for the game on February 25.
Head-to-Head
📊 Since Tolyatti's return to the KHL lineup in 2023, Ak Bars and Lada have clashed ten times in the regular season. Tolyatti's team has claimed victory in three of these encounters, while the Kazan club has triumphed in seven. Notably, Lada have been unable to defeat their rivals in regulation time for eight consecutive games-seven of those ended with wins for the "Bars," and one saw Lada edge out a victory in overtime (4-3 OT).
Head-to-head statistics Ak Bars Kazan - Lada
Ak Bars Kazan Team Overview
Following the KHL All-Star break, Anvar Gatiyatulin's team has played four games-securing home victories against Torpedo (4-3 OT) and Avangard (5-2), and an away win against Lada (4-2). Recently, Ak Bars let a two-goal lead slip nine minutes before the end against Torpedo, eventually losing in a shootout (2-3 SO). Nonetheless, Ak Bars remain firmly in the top three with a chance to overtake Avangard by the end of the regular season.
Ak Bars boast one of the strongest defensive lines in the East, conceding just 141 goals (an average of 2.4 per game)-only Avangard have let in fewer (139). On defense, Mitchell Miller stands out as he ranks among the top five scoring defensemen with 40 points and is in the top three for goals scored by defensemen with 17.
Ak Bars' injury list still includes defenseman Stepan Falkovsky. Following their previous victory over Lada, the coaching staff decided to rest goaltender Timur Bilyalov and defenseman Konstantin Luchevnikov. Alexey Marchenko, who missed the game in Tolyatti, returned to the lineup, while 18-year-old Yegor Potapov played in one shift.
Match Results: Ak Bars Kazan
Lada Team Overview
The first team to lose playoff hopes, Lada have managed just two wins in their last month of play, suffering nine losses. Interestingly, Pavel Desyatkov's squad fell to similarly ranked and skilled teams like Barys (3-5) and Sibir (2-3 OT), but they did manage to defeat CSKA (2-1). In their last two outings, the Togliatti side lost by the same scoreline of 2-4 to Ak Bars and Traktor.
Lada possess the league's worst defense, conceding 210 goals, averaging 3.5 per game. No other KHL team has allowed over 200 goals. Their away games fare even worse, with 125 goals conceded, an average of 3.8 per game. This troubling trend is reflected in their recent performances: in 5 of their last 6 games, Lada have allowed at least three goals per match.
Following their loss in Kazan, Desyatkov reinstated Ivan Bocharov in goal and added Dmitry Kugryshev to the lineup, who had an impressive point streak at the end of January and beginning of February. Vladislav Chervonenko was left out of the roster for the game in Chelyabinsk.
Match Results: Lada
⚡️ Key Players
Alongside one of the KHL's top-scoring defensemen, Miller, Ak Bars' leading scorers include Kirill Semyonov (45 points, 14 goals + 31 assists) and Alexander Barabanov (43 points, 16+27). Semyonov has been on a point streak for three consecutive games (1 goal + 3 assists), as has Nathan Todd (3 goals + 2 assists). Albert Yarullin, back from injury, has recorded three assists in four games.
For Ak Bars and Lada, some of the league's leaders in hits are Vladislav Semin (172) and Dmitry Yashkin (171). Canadian forward Riley Sawchuk leads Togliatti's scoring race with 40 points (20 goals + 20 assists). Artur Tyanulin, with 26 assists, is Lada's top playmaker. Tyler Graovac has found the net in three of the last four games.
🥅 Goaltenders
Timur Bilyalov carries the primary goaltending duties for Ak Bars, having played six consecutive games before the match in Nizhny Novgorod-posting a save percentage above 92% in four of them. Making his first appearance since late January, Maxim Arefyev stopped 33 shots against Torpedo (94.3% save rate).
Lada's coaching staff predominantly relies on Ivan Bocharov between the pipes; however, in the last three outings, his save percentage has not exceeded 90%. Against Traktor, he made 36 saves. Alexander Trushkov, facing CSKA and Ak Bars, made 70 saves with his save percentage never dropping below 92%.
Editors' Prediction
Ak Bars are focusing on strengthening their defense in recent games as they gear up for the playoffs, where defense will be crucial. In their last three matches, the team from Kazan have not conceded more than two goals per game. Looking at the stats for games against the same opponent within a week, Ak Bars have seen five out of seven second matchups of the season being less productive than the first, and for Lada, this figure is even higher-six out of seven repeat games were less productive.
In their last five head-to-head meetings, whether home or away, the teams have scored six or fewer goals, and this trend holds true for their last five encounters in Kazan as well. We anticipate that this second game of the week will be low-scoring and opt for a total match goals under 6.
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Betting Tips: Ak Bars Kazan - Lada
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