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The defense of Kazan looks better and better

The home team hasn't conceded more than two goals in the last seven matches. They are still unbeaten at home and they are visited by Severstal who are troubled with absences of important defenders and bad shape

Kazan had a pretty successful away streak of four games. They collected seven points and had the only regular time loss against CSKA. Those were matches in which the team from Tatarstan was winning mostly thanks to their excellent defensive play. They are the best in the Eastern Conference by defense efficiency. They concede only 1.67 goals on average which is the best indicator of the defense they possess.

The wins in very difficult away matches in Riga and Prague are to be especially emphasized. Against Lev in the last round they played their way. The players from Prague had an apparent dominance but with the help of Janne Pesonen Kazan took the lead in the middle of the match with 2-0 and kept the lead successfully to the end.

Konstantin Barulin was again excellent on the goal. He saved 33 shots which is 97.1% efficiency. The best proof for the reliability of Kazan's goalies is the fact that Brulin and his colleague Emil Garipov share the third place of the league in saves percentage (94.6). They are one of the main reasons their club didn't concede more than two goals in seven matches.

- We were thrilled by the win in Prague. It was a very difficult match because it was already a ninth one we played every other day. It cost the players a lot of energy. The boys had to show character - said the coach Valery Belov.

The pace at which Kazan started the championship was indeed very exhausting but it should be pointed out that ahead of this match they had three days to rest and prepare. So far they haven't been defeated in their arena this season.

Today they will not be able to count on the defenseman Grigory Panin who is suspended for one match because of a dangerous assault on one player of Lev. The injured forwards Chris Bourque and Yevgeni Bodrow will probably miss the match too but their absences should be made up for without too many problems. The defender Vasili Tokranov is also questionable but he is not so important.

Panin was the member of the third defense pair of Kazan so his absence shouldn't be too noticeable, especially if the newly arrived defenseman Shaun Heshka keeps playing on the level he did so far. The Canadian is for now the most efficient defenseman of the league and the Russian analysts dubbed him the most pleasant surprise at the start of the championship.

Severstal didn't start the season brilliantly, as was expected, and they can thank their current number of points to the fixture schedule which brought them two weaker teams Medvescak and Dinamo Minsk to their home arena and they won against both. They have about ten points but they haven't showed much in terms of performance. They are basically a new team because all of the best players left during summer.

They are leaving on the trip with two consecutive losses. First Donbass left them with no goals and then they played an excellent match against Spartak in the offense, but their defense was again very poor. They lead 2-0 in that match, but the visitors turned the score around. They took the lead again and kept it until five minutes before the end when they concede a goal again. They haven't started the extra time well and conceded a goal in the third minute which left them with only one point.

It was a really good match for them in terms of offense. They had 36 shots on goal, four goals and they had to make a win out of that but their defense is a huge problem. They allowed the away team to come back and that earned them a loss in the end. They conceded a goal in two out of four situations with a player less which is very bad statistic and if they keep playing like this on the away tour which awaits them they will get nothing good out of it, especially in the match against Kazan.

 - We made some serious mistakes in the defense but again we managed to even that out with the offense. In the extra time we made a mistake again and lost an additional point but the team really gave their best. We fought and I think the fans can be satisfied - said the coach of Severstal Igor Petrov.

The team from Cherepovts has problems with injuries as well. In addition to two forwards Zemchenk and Medvedev, the two very important defenders from the first two lines, Laakso and Shinin, are also missing. That could cause big problems in the defense in the away match where they were majorly defeated last season.

There are three main reasons why Kazan should win convincingly in this game. The first is the fact that they are a better team than the guests, and they have not lost at home yet . On the last away tour they managed to win in a very tough away games against Prague and Riga, which is a good indicator that they are capturing the right form. This applies especially to the defense game. For seven games in a row they did not receive more than two goals (average 1.67). Another reason is the form of their goalkeeper. Kazan's duo Barulin-Garipov shared the third place in the league with a percentage of saves (94.6) and it does not matter which one of them will start today. In the goalkeeping segment, Severstal is certainly in a subordinate position. The third reason is the form. Severstal has so far lost all three matches away, and the only victory it reached at home was against the poor Dinamo Minsk and the impressioned Medvescak. They were always losing at home against a bit stronger opponents. Compared to the last year, they are significantly weakened, and now can not count on two of their four best defenders. Kazan is probably the strongest team in the east and the strongest club with which Severstal meets this season. The hosts have rested, and are certainly motivated in front of their fans, and I think that it will be difficult to avoid a convincing defeat. When Kazan is concerned, it is always a good option to play a team set under Severstal, but practically it is always profitable to play only on the margin of 1.5 goals. So handicap acts as a better option.