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Both teams are defending very good this season

Traktor conceded only three goals in the last four rounds, and Magnitogorsk conceded only five in the same period.

Last Tuesday Traktor continued to play like they are playing from the beginning of the season - very good in the defence, and poorly in the attack. In the last four rounds they conceded only three goals but they failed to score more than a single goal per game. In the last round they didn't concede against Sibir. Defenseman Dmitry Ryabykin scored the only goal of the match during power play early in the second period.

Traktor is struggling in the attack and they continued to do so in the match against Sibir. They had only 20 shots on goal (11 of those were in the second period). In the third period they were under a lot of pressure but their defence was solid and they managed to win the match. Sibir had 14 shots on goal in the last period but Traktor's goalie Michael Garnett had successfully defended every single one (he defended total of 27 shots in that game). Traktor won their last four matches, and their goalie helped them a lot with an impressive 94% shots on his goal saved.

Coach Valery Belousov said that he wasn't satisfied with their performance in the attack and, when asked why defender Renat Mamshev was sitting on the bench in the last two rounds, he said that he is just not satisfied with his performances so far. 

- I think we will have enough time to recover for the match against Magnitogorsk. We will analyze our mistakes from previous matches and we will try to play aggressively against Magnitogorsk - Mikhail Mokin said.

Forward Evgeny Kuznetsov is still recovering from his shoulder injury and he is out for today's match. Traktor could definitely use his help against Magnitorosk as they are struggling in the attack. In the last 8 matches these two teams played against each other we saw more than 5 goals in a single game only once, and during the last season they didn't pass this margin not even once.

The away team is playing very similar to Traktor. They started the season slowly, especially defensively, but their form improved with every round. Just like Traktor, they have four consecutive victories and they conceded only five goals in those matches. In the last two matches they conceded only one goal per game, and last Sunday they scored six against Amur. They converted to goals three out of eight power plays they earned in that match.

- Transition from defence to attack was solid. Again, we are well aware that our opponents were very tired after couple of away matches they played. Not only physically, but also mentally. We were very quick and well prepared - coach Mike Keenan said.

Traktor have the best penalty killing percentage in the league (96,7%) and this will certainly make things a lot harder for Magnitogorsk. Home team has a very solid goalie (Garnett) and the away team is counting on their own goalie Vasily Koshechkin. He was the best goalie in the KHL last year, and he saved 96,7% shots on his goal in the last round. Match before that he saved 95% shots so he is definitely in a very good form right now. It is no accident that Magnitogorsk started winning after his form improved.

Defenseman Viktor Antipin and center Pavel Zdunov are still recovering from their injuries and they could be out for today's match.

Unlike in the first few rounds, both Traktor and Magnitogorsk significantly improved their defense. It looks much more coordinated and firmer, exactly according to the expectations ahead of the season because of the lineup and defensively orientated coaches. Traktor conceded only three goals in four matches since they returned to their arena. In the last round they left Sibir without goals. They are not so dominant in the offense, partially because of the injury of the main forward Kuznetsov. The goalie Michael Garnett didn't go under 94% of saves in that period. Another great goalie, Magnitogorsk's Koshechkin, also has the same percentage. So the away team conceded five goals in the last four rounds. In the last round they scored 6 against Amur and 4 against Admiral the round earlier but the defenses of those teams cannot be compared to Traktor's. In addition it should be noted that both Amur and Admiral were on long away tours which significantly improved the advantage of Magnitogorsk. Against Traktor they have a division derby which is usually very feisty. They have gone over the total of 5 goals only once in their last eight duels (in the preparation match).