Red Star Kunlun vs Traktor Chelyabinsk Prediction 28 January 2025

🔊 Can the "dragons" upset the leader of the Eastern Conference? Next Tuesday, the "Arena Mytishchi" will not be bored as it will witness the head-to-head clash between Kunlun and Traktor. The Chinese team has transformed and is seriously contending for a spot in the Gagarin Cup playoffs. However, bookmakers continue to express skepticism about the team in their predictions: a home win is at 4.05, while a victory for the visitors is at 1.77.

📊 H2H

At the end of November last year, the teams faced each other on the ice of "Traktor Arena." Back then, the "dragons" achieved a sensational victory with a large score of 4:1. This victory over the "polar bears" was their first in the last 4 years in regular time.

🔴 KUNLUN

Mikhail Kravets deserves respect, as few could believe that the "dragons" would manage a series of 7 consecutive victories. After a recent key victory over Vityaz (2:1), the Chinese club reduced the gap from the top-8 to 6 points. Considering the "swings" in Torpedo's results, there is a high probability of an exciting season finale in the "West." The main problem for Kunlun is the large amount of penalty time - about 5 minutes and 34 seconds per game. Improving this component will significantly boost the effectiveness of the rather straightforward hockey played by the "dragons."

⚪ TRAKTOR

In recent matches, Traktor impresses with its intensity. Benoit Groulx in several games abandoned slow puck play, favoring quick passes and a large number of shots on goal. Thus, in total for the encounters with Sibir (3:4) and Admiral (3:2 shootout), the "tractorists" made 98 shots. A major problem for the "dragons" could be the excellent power play efficiency of the "polar bears" - 22.3% successful attempts (4th in the league).

🔗 PROBABLE LINEUPS

Kunlun: Rybar - Kozhevnikov, Clendening - Halbgewachs, Graovac, Jurco

Traktor: Fucale - Kampfer, Telegin - Robinson, Glotov, Shabanov

🥅 GOALIES

It seems Patrick Rybar has adapted to playing with Kunlun. In the recent match against Vityaz (2:1), he managed to keep his team in the game until the end, preventing any attempts by the "heroes" to score. Let's note the average statistics of the Slovak after 4 games in the "dragons" jersey (95.31% save percentage, GAA - 1.47).

Zachary Fucale is Traktor's record-holder for shutouts in a season. In the current KHL campaign, the Canadian goaltender managed to keep his net untouched on 7 occasions. Other statistical indicators are also quite convincing (92.16% save percentage, GAA - 2.05).

📝 MATCH PREDICTION

Traktor is incredibly active and persistent in recent matches. In 6 out of 7 previous encounters involving the "polar bears," at least 6 pucks were recorded. Considering the frequent penalties of the "dragons" and the efficiency of the "tractorists" during power plays, our editorial team anticipates a high-scoring hockey game. The key bet is on total over 4.5 goals.