KHL Siberia latest games results

Sochi won three against Sibir last match contract. Will Alexander Andrievsky's team be able to beat the southerners and rehabilitate themselves for the devastating defeat in the last match against Spartak? We think not!

Team form

Most recently, the Sochi club was confidently in the top eight of the cup standings Western Conference, and now Sergei Zubov’s team already occupy borderline eighth place in terms of lost points, while the gap from ninth place is one point, which cannot be considered a comfortable state. In mid-December, the southerners managed to hold a number of excellent home matches, during which HC Sochi beat Riga Dynamo, Avangard, Salavat Yulaev, Torpedo and Ak Bars, losing only to Neftekhimik. It seemed that Sergei Zubov’s team would not have any difficulties in the near future, but at the end of the outgoing year they lost to Jokerit and Spartak, and at the beginning of the new year the Sochi team lost to Barys, complicating their tournament position.

The Novosibirsk club is starting to fail again. After a disastrous start to the season, Siberia managed to put together a series of 15 matches, in which Alexander Andrievsky’s team won 11 victories. Such a rapid breakthrough allowed the team to return to the fight for a place in the playoffs, but the current trip is not going well for the Novosibirsk team. In the games against Jokerit and Spartak, everything developed according to a similar scenario: Sibir had a good first period, in the second period the opponent managed to create the necessary reserve in the score, and the Novosibirsk team was unable to maintain this breakthrough. As a result, in Helsinki there was a defeat - 1:4, and in Moscow it all ended in defeat - 0:7. Instead of closing the gap from the coveted eighth place, the gap has again grown to seven points, and there is less and less time left to recoup.

History of personal meetings

Within KHL teams held eight head-to-head meetings with each other, in which each club was able to win exactly four victories. The difference in goals scored is on the side of the Sochi team – 27:22. Last season, the opponents played two head-to-head matches, and both times the Sibir players were stronger with the same score - 4:3.

Sochi – Siberia 01/07/2019

Place: DS Bolshoi, Sochi

Tournament: Continental Hockey League. Regular season

On Monday, January 7th, as part of the regular championship of the Kontinental Hockey League, a match will take place between the Sochi hockey club and the Sibir team from Novosibirsk. The game will take place in Sochi, on the ice of the Bolshoi Sports Palace. The match starts at 17:00 Moscow time.

Pre-match analysis and bookmaker forecasts

HC Sochi played 46 matches in the regular season and won twenty victories. The team lost in the last match hockey club Barys. Dietz opened the scoring in the match, scoring the puck into the Sochi goal in the fifteenth minute. In the second period, he also made an assist to Frattin. In the third period, Curtis Volk scored another goal against the Sochi team. The result is a dry home defeat to Sochi with a score of 0:3. The probability of HC Sochi winning the next match is estimated by bookmakers at 57 percent.

HC Sibir played 45 matches in the regular season and won sixteen victories. In the last match, the team lost to Spartak Moscow. In the first period, the teams worked on equal terms. In the second period, Siberian goalkeeper Danny Taylor missed two goals within twelve seconds and was replaced. This did not save the team - Alexey Krasikov missed the next five goals. According to Sibir coach Andrievsky, only Spartak played in the second period. The Siberians were unable to score a single goal in the match, although they repeatedly created chances. The probability of Siberia winning the next match is estimated by bookmakers at 23 percent. The probability of a draw in regulation time is 25 percent.

The opponents have not met yet this season. The Siberians are trying to get into the playoff zone, the Sochi team, being in seventh place in the conference, are trying to stay in it. The teams' chances are approximately equal, the question is who will want to win back more after a dry defeat. The Sochi players play well on their ice, but the Siberians have already proven that they are capable of taking on even teams from the top 3.

Interesting facts before the match Sochi - Sibir

Within the KHL, the teams played eight matches. HC Sochi has three victories in regular time and one in overtime. HC Siberia has two victories in regular time, one in overtime and one in shootouts.

"Sochi" - "Siberia". 01/07/2019. Match forecast

KHL. Regular championship. “Sochi” - “Sibir” Arena: “Bolshoi” (Sochi) 01/07/2019. 17:00 Moscow time.

The Sochi team won their last three matches in a row against Sibir. Will Alexander Andrievsky's team be able to beat the southerners and rehabilitate themselves for the devastating defeat in the last match against Spartak? We think not!

Team form

More recently, the Sochi club was confidently in the top eight of the Western Conference tournament table, and now Sergei Zubov’s charges are already in borderline eighth place in terms of lost points, while the gap from ninth place is one point, which cannot be considered a comfortable state. In mid-December, the southerners managed to hold a number of excellent home matches, during which HC Sochi beat Riga Dynamo, Avangard, Salavat Yulaev, Torpedo and Ak Bars, losing only to Neftekhimik. It seemed that Sergei Zubov’s team would not have any difficulties in the near future, but at the end of the outgoing year they lost to Jokerit and Spartak, and at the beginning of the new year the Sochi team lost to Barys, complicating their tournament position.

History of personal meetings

Within the KHL, the teams held eight head-to-head meetings with each other, in which each club was able to win exactly four victories. The difference in goals scored is on the side of the Sochi team – 27:22. Last season, the opponents played two head-to-head matches, and both times the Sibir players were stronger with the same score - 4:3.

Sochi – Siberia 01/07/2019

Place: DS Bolshoi, Sochi

Tournament: Kontinental Hockey League. Regular season

Pre-match analysis and bookmaker forecasts

HC Sochi played 46 matches in the regular season and won twenty victories. In the last match the team lost to the Barys hockey club. Dietz opened the scoring in the match, scoring the puck into the Sochi goal in the fifteenth minute. In the second period, he also made an assist to Frattin. In the third period, Curtis Volk scored another goal against the Sochi team. The result is a dry home defeat to Sochi with a score of 0:3. The probability of HC Sochi winning the next match is estimated by bookmakers at 57 percent.

Interesting facts before the match Sochi - Sibir

Within the KHL, the teams played eight matches. HC Sochi has three victories in regular time and one in overtime. HC Siberia has two victories in regular time, one in overtime and one in shootouts.

SA÷4¬~ZA÷RUSSIA: KHL¬ZEE÷v9k3aY5F¬ZB÷158¬ZY÷Russia¬ZC÷SIr1Kv42¬ZD÷t¬ZE÷8Ym4QROM¬ZF÷0¬ZO÷0¬ZG÷1¬ZH÷158_v9k3aY5F ¬ZJ÷2¬ZL÷/khl/¬ZX÷01Russia 006Russia0000000000001000KHL 003......000¬ZCC÷0¬ZAF÷Russia¬~AA÷UBOXYVSG¬AD÷1579606200¬ADE÷1579606200¬ AB÷1¬CR ÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Kunlun RS¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WN÷AMU¬AF÷Amur¬JB÷WlClPxfA¬WV÷amur-khabarovsk¬WM÷KRS¬ AE÷Kunlun RS¬JA÷Io8pQIv4¬WU÷red-star-kunlun¬AL÷("2":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0"," IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16.png","BN":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")])¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷nFPIiSLT¬AD÷1579609800¬ADE÷1579609800¬AB÷1¬CR ÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Siberia¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷SIB¬AE÷Siberia¬JA÷CtR81BQT¬WU÷sibir-novosibirsk¬WN÷TRA¬AF ÷Tractor¬JB÷EkDzcVYp¬WV÷tractor-chelyabinsk¬AL÷("2":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":" \/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16.png","BN":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")])¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷UwVDh86N¬AD÷1579615200¬ADE÷1579615200¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Salavat Yulaev¬RW÷0¬AX ÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷UFA¬AE÷Salavat Yulaev¬JA÷4GN03XeH¬WU÷salavat-ufa¬WN÷ADM¬AF÷Admiral¬JB÷r7M42iBN¬WV÷vladivostok¬AW÷1¬ AN÷n¬~AA÷jmW9gliH¬AD÷1579622400¬ADE÷1579622400¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Neftekhimik¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM ÷NIZ¬AE÷Neftekhimik¬JA÷AHUi5gR4¬WU÷niznekamsk¬WN÷YEK¬AF÷Avtomobilist¬JB÷MiYe4DtB¬WV÷yekaterinburg¬AL÷("2":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/ 16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16.png","BN":"bet365","BI" :16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")])¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷rNS1eAM4 ¬AD÷1579622400¬ADE÷1579622400¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Torpedo¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷NOV¬AE÷Torpedo¬JA ÷txwy9ySu¬WU÷nizhny-novgorod¬WN÷LOK¬AF÷Lokomotiv¬JB÷KSyu8esn¬WV÷lokomotiv-yaroslavl¬AL÷("2":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/? from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16.png","BN":"bet365","BI":16," BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")])¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷S0J7ST5p¬AD÷1579623000¬ADE÷1579623000¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Dynamo Minsk¬RW÷0¬AX ÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷DMN¬AE÷Dynamo Minsk¬JA÷tpDPGE1j¬WU÷dinamo-minsk¬WN÷SPA¬AF÷Spartak Moscow¬JB÷fmHTFYGd¬WV÷spartak-moscow¬AW ÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷dQW5fUyB¬AD÷1579624200¬ADE÷1579624200¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Vityaz Podolsk¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬ WQ÷¬WM÷POD¬AE÷Vityaz Podolsk¬JA÷x4Wq7Fdh¬WU÷vityaz-podolsk¬WN÷AVA¬AF÷Avangard¬JB÷GfVm6ZBb¬WV÷avangard-omsk¬AL÷("2":[(" BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16.png","BN ":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")])¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷0bwcdj7b¬AD÷1579624200¬ADE÷1579624200¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Dynamo Moscow¬RW÷0¬AX ÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷DYN¬AE÷Dynamo Moscow¬JA÷jDcRlYtO¬WU÷dynamo-moscow¬WN÷KAZ¬AF÷Ak Bars¬JB÷4G1VmhdU¬WV÷bars-kazan¬AL ÷("2":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/ 17-16.png","BN":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18 +")])¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷CzExYkrN¬AD÷1579624200¬ADE÷1579624200¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Jokerit¬RW÷0¬AX÷0 ¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷JOK¬AE÷Jokerit¬JA÷QBBhOd9G¬WU÷jokerit¬WN÷BAR¬AF÷Barys¬JB÷42AdNGOM¬WV÷barys-nur-sultan¬AL÷("2 ":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16. png","BN":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")] )¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷M7vgcWih¬AD÷1579624200¬ADE÷1579624200¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷CSKA¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷- 1¬WQ÷¬WM÷CSKA¬AE÷CSKA¬JA÷Uc9IjfCB¬WU÷cska-moscow¬WN÷SKA¬AF÷SKA¬JB÷8l8MkERH¬WV÷ska-st-petersburg¬AL÷("2": [("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16.png" ,"BN":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+")])¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷ALWuX9cT¬AD÷1579627800¬ADE÷1579627800¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Dinamo Riga¬RW÷0¬AX ÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷DRG¬AE÷Dynamo Riga¬JA÷pERgMzvT¬WU÷dinamo-riga¬WN÷SOCH¬AF÷Sochi¬JB÷nNDLHfnp¬WV÷sochi¬AL÷(" 2":[("BU":"\/bookmaker\/16\/?from=live-streaming&sport=0","IU":"\/res\/image\/data\/bookmakers\/17-16 .png","BN":"bet365","BI":16,"BT":"GEO restrictions apply. Funded account required or to have placed a bet in the last 24 hours. GamblingTherapy.org. 18+") ])¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷6iIBRmLj¬AD÷1579692600¬ADE÷1579692600¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Kunlun RS¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX ÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷KRS¬AE÷Kunlun RS¬JA÷bLsAOQKd¬WU÷red-star-kunlun¬WN÷AMU¬AF÷Amur¬JB÷xCtENpz3¬WV÷amur-khabarovsk¬AW÷1¬ AN÷n¬~AA÷lOBpmnUp¬AD÷1579788000¬ADE÷1579788000¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Avtomobilist¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM ÷YEK¬AE÷Avtomobilist¬JA÷GfiJLEBo¬WU÷yekaterinburg¬WN÷TRA¬AF÷Tractor¬JB÷UceNKYQi¬WV÷tractor-chelyabinsk¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷E13WAkMi¬AD÷1579795200¬ ADE÷1579795200¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Locomotive¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷LOK¬AE÷Locomotive¬JA÷UXPRHWAA¬WU÷ lokomotiv-yaroslavl¬WN÷CSKA¬AF÷CSKA¬JB÷8OOVGjQG¬WV÷cska-moscow¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷dQhyA9yb¬AD÷1579797000¬ADE÷1579797000¬AB÷1¬CR÷1 ¬AC÷1¬CX÷Avant-garde¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WN÷SOCH¬AF÷Sochi¬JB÷ENj3brAk¬WV÷sochi¬WM÷AVA¬AE÷Avant-garde¬JA ÷0KnaaOfq¬WU÷avangard-omsk¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷2RaSBV6o¬AD÷1579797000¬ADE÷1579797000¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Ak Bars¬RW÷0 ¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷KAZ¬AE÷Ak Bars¬JA÷OKfRJhtb¬WU÷bars-kazan¬WN÷UFA¬AF÷Salavat Yulaev¬JB÷2BgVICe4¬WV÷salavat-ufa ¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷zHiu9Tj4¬AD÷1579797000¬ADE÷1579797000¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Dynamo Moscow¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷- 1¬WQ÷¬WM÷DYN¬AE÷Dynamo Moscow¬JA÷dnt8c2Pe¬WU÷dynamo-moscow¬WN÷POD¬AF÷Vityaz Podolsk¬JB÷zwuCdMv2¬WV÷vityaz-podolsk¬AW÷1¬AN÷n ¬~AA÷r91fjXci¬AD÷1579797000¬ADE÷1579797000¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷Jokerit¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷JOK¬ AE÷Jokerit¬JA÷6ooIM4k9¬WU÷jokerit¬WN÷ADM¬AF÷Admiral¬JB÷pxpMLO4F¬WV÷vladivostok¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷Ma0bkiDc¬AD÷1579797000¬ADE÷1579797000 ¬AB ÷1¬CR÷1¬AC÷1¬CX÷SKA¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷SKA¬AE÷SKA¬JA÷QZcj4dZs¬WU÷ska-st-petersburg ¬WN÷BAR¬AF÷Barys¬JB÷xA1f3Gll¬WV÷barys-nur-sultan¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~AA÷4jdq8m6A¬AD÷1579797000¬ADE÷1579797000¬AB÷1¬CR÷1¬ AC÷1¬CX÷Spartak Moscow¬RW÷0¬AX÷0¬BX÷-1¬WQ÷¬WM÷SPA¬AE÷Spartak Moscow¬JA÷OhYgL5H2¬WU÷spartak-moscow¬WN÷CHE¬AF÷ Severstal¬JB÷2qXcKPW8¬WV÷severstal-cherepovets¬AW÷1¬AN÷n¬~

"Sochi" - "Siberia". 01/07/2019. Match forecast

KHL. Regular championship. “Sochi” - “Sibir” Arena: “Bolshoi” (Sochi) 01/07/2019. 17:00 Moscow time.

Team form

History of personal meetings

Sochi – Siberia 01/07/2019

Place: DS Bolshoi, Sochi

Tournament: Kontinental Hockey League. Regular season

Pre-match analysis and bookmaker forecasts

Interesting facts before the match Sochi - Sibir

Within the KHL, the teams played eight matches. HC Sochi has three victories in regular time and one in overtime. HC Siberia has two victories in regular time, one in overtime and one in shootouts.

IN last years“Siberia” is firmly established in the bottom half of the tournament KHL tables. From time to time, the club has problems with financing, which cannot but affect the quality of work in the transfer market. At the same time, promising local students, along with the legionnaires who “shot” in Novosibirsk, are lured away by richer teams at the first opportunity - and general manager Kirill Fastovsky, by and large, has to create every year new team on the ruins of the former.

Nevertheless, no one expected such a sharp and rapid decline from Siberia at the start of the 2018/19 season. Yes, it would be incredibly difficult to fight for a real playoff spot in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference with a very modest budget. But the bright ending of the last regular season under the leadership of Vladimir Yurzinov Jr., who was invited to play the role of anti-crisis coach, who almost saved the championship for Novosibirsk, which had failed long before his appointment, did not suggest that, until relatively recently, Fastovsky’s brainchild, which was competing for medals, would end up at the very bottom.

What happened?

However, “Siberia” managed to surprise even those specialists and experts who initially treated the team’s prospects with a fair amount of skepticism. Having lost 11 matches in a row since the start of the KHL regular season, the team of the tournament has the longest losing streak at the start of the season. But if its previous owner, Vityaz near Moscow, in the fall of 2010, still created difficulties for its opponents from time to time and suffered three of its ten defeats outside of regular time, then the Siberians never managed to hold out at least until overtime.

Each of the team’s 11 defeats happened in regular time, and in less than a month (in September the Siberians still have to play with Dynamo Minsk and the above-mentioned Vityaz), the main outsider of the East did not score a single point at all.

At first glance, Sibir’s position in the conference table does not look hopeless: the 13th team in the East is ten points behind the top eight in the cup. But when new system their calculation - starting from this season, any victory, even after three periods, even in an additional five-minute period or a shootout, is valued at two points - it will not be easy to win back this handicap. Considering that both the human and financial resources of the organization are modest and limited, the likelihood of its miraculous transformation tends to zero. The team seriously risks losing the remnants of tournament motivation even before the onset of winter, as happened in previous years with Khanty-Mansiysk “Yugra”, Novokuznetsk “Metallurg” and Togliatti “Lada” who had already lost their places in the KHL.

Who is guilty?

Everyone can be called involved in this result. If only because the mistakes of one single person could not have led to such a weak start for Sibir in the season. The head coach, as often happens, was made the last: after six defeats, Yurzinov Jr., and his place was taken by Belarusian Alexander Andrievsky, who is considered a tougher and more demanding mentor, who had previously achieved local success with teams mediocre like "Admiral" from Vladivostok.

But even with him at the helm, the Siberians look no better than under his more democratic predecessor. In a recent meeting with SKA (in which, in fact, the anti-record described above was set), Andrievsky’s team resisted the season favorite only until the first missed goal. After which she resigned herself to the inevitable and left the ice for the third time since the beginning of the championship without scoring a single goal.

The fact that Siberia is the worst team in the KHL in terms of playing both in defense and in attack is, of course, also Fastovsky’s fault, as the person responsible for completing the roster. For any average person who does not have sufficient opportunities for active work On the market Russian players, it is vitally important to competently fill foreign vacancies: five qualified foreigners should at least eliminate the headaches of playing in the majority and become a reference point for role players and young talents.

In Novosibirsk, everything happened exactly the opposite. The management frankly missed the mark with four hockey players invited from abroad, and the fifth - French forward Charles Bertrand - although he did not fail, he still cannot cope with the functions of the leader of Siberia: only two points for performance in 11 regular-season matches.

Others are doing even worse. Canadian goalkeeper Danny Taylor concedes an average of almost four goals per game and is in no way superior to the far from stellar Russian Alexei Krasikov. His compatriot Corey Emmerton has the worst utility score among the team’s forwards -8 and has not yet taken part in a single scoring attack by the Siberians.

Finally, the Finns Jukka Peltola and Julius Junttila, who were invited to play the main role impact force team, had already dropped out of the lineup: the first received a hand injury and was out for at least a month, and the second was expelled at the same time as Yurzinov Jr. was dismissed as categorically not meeting expectations. After Sibir rewrote Vityaz’s anti-record, Russian striker Enver Lisin was put up for the waiver draft: probably the most famous domestic player of the team among the fans. His invitation, alas, also did not justify itself.

Now Fastovsky is trying to patch up the holes in the Siberians’ lineup by signing free agents who remained unclaimed both in the offseason and in the first weeks of the regular season. Among them there are really smart, experienced hockey players (for example, forward Dmitry Sayustov, whose previous place of work was the Ufa “Salavat Yulaev”), but none of the newcomers already announced by the club are yet capable of playing the role of a savior.

What's next?

It is certainly too early for the Siberians to go into the mode of finishing the season. The team has a relatively simple stretch of the calendar ahead: in the next two weeks, Andrievsky’s boys will play four matches with the middle peasants and outsiders of the Western Conference (Dynamo Minsk and Vityaz - away, Dinamo Riga and Slovan Bratislava - at home), in each of which, with the right level of dedication, a team can cling to points, or even break a long series of failures, delighting its own fans with the first victory of the season.

But in global terms, time is against the Novosibirsk team. September and October are traditionally the busiest months in the regular season calendar, meaning Andrievsky, even if the club signs several more named hockey players, will simply have no time to rebuild the team’s game due to the busy schedule of matches and flights.

The Belarusian specialist will one way or another have to build on the baggage of Yurzinov Jr., who failed pre-season training. At least until the first international break, planned for the first ten days of November. And of course, tighten the screws: only strict discipline and unquestioning implementation of coaching instructions can compensate for the low, by the standards of the KHL leaders, level of individual skill of the majority of Siberia hockey players.

However, even if the Siberians fail to return to the list of contenders for participation in the playoffs, the end of the world will not happen. The team's roster includes several promising hockey players who need constant competitive practice high level, and they will be willing to provide it if the club has no tournament motivation left in the 2018/19 season. One of these players, 20-year-old striker Nikita Mikhailov, already looks more than worthy, being top scorer“Siberia” in the regular season: he has five goals and one assist in 11 meetings.