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SKA in a great shape

Motivated guests are in an onrush, and they defeated some quality opponents in the last two games, Ufa could have problems because their defense is the weaker part of the team

Ufa showed why they were the home team once again on Friday. They continued the winning streak at home to five games. They played their best game of this season against Severstal. Offensively oriented home team nested eight pucks in the opponent's net. It was all decided, more or less, about ten minutes after the game started, because Ufa was in the lead 4-0 by then. Their win could have been more expressed and convincing, but they relaxed in the last period. It should be noted that all eight goals were scored in 5-on-5 game.

- I'm happy because of the way we played two and a half periods, but not those last ten minutes. We can't lose focus in any moment, so that was a bit disappointing. We took three important points - coach Vladimir Jurzinov said, like he wasn't aware of the result.

Tomas Zaborsky debuted for Ufa, and he came from Omsk a few days ago. He didn't really show anything special on ice, but the coach has no doubts about bringing him in. The great thing for the home team is that the forward Nikita Filatov recovered from the injury. He had two assists against Severstal right away. Even though Sergei Zinovyev finished the four games suspension, there was no place for him in the roster. Captain and defenseman Vitali Proshkin's performance is also questionable.

No doubt that Ufa will have a big test against SKA. Home positive series will be very tempted. The offense is the best segment of this team, and defense and the goalie often don't match that level, which could be their biggest problem.
SKA showed they mean business this season, and they won't relax in the games anymore. They demonstrated their strength at the very strong Magnitogorsk who didn't lose a single home game in this season until now. SKA weren't really impressed, and they easily won.

They outshot them convincingly for 18 shots, and had countless more chances, which finally helped them score four goals. Only one of those was in the powerplay, one out of five powerplay situations. Goalie Ezhov played great, saving 95% of the home team shots. New lines Jalonen created contribute the good game the most lately, and now the biggest stars, Kovalchuk and Cervenka, are together in the line. It looks fantastic. Tikhonov joined Thoresen and Martenssen on the first line, and it also seems amazing.

SKA are too strong for anyone when they're motivated, and since Ufa is also a big name, and a third team on the East, it's logical to expect they'll be super motivated. They have a problem with the games against weak and small opponents who they underestimate and relax, but when it comes to a big name, especially in the away game, they get serious. They can't really relax either because they know Dinamo is right at their heels, and any mistake might push them down from the first position of the West.

- We played really well, and I'm very satisfied, especially with our start of the game. We kept a good rhythm in the game, used all of the good chances against a strong opponent that's hard to beat at home - SKA coach, Jukka Jalonen, said proudly.

Keotv and Kuteikin recovered from their injuries, but haven't played yet, which might even be better for now, in order not to break the chemistry of the team at the moment. They're players SKA can do without, and once again, they're the big favorites for winning this game.

Ufa can't possibly be the favorite in a match against the best team in the league, who are also, by the way, in a fantastic rhythm. Ufa have a limited defense, and SKA will know how to collect on that. They easily won the match against Magnitka, as well as the one against Traktor, so I see a similar scenario in this match, because Ufa are even weaker than the aforementioned teams. SKA will have the leading role here. The new lines set up by Jalonen seem great, and SKA look intimidating. Ufa are a big name, and in SKA lose this match, they will also lose their first place, so they'll have no trouble in finding motivation. Last season, SKA won in both of their encounters when if consider their H2H, although I believe that this will have no influence here. This is a far too big of a rate on the best team in the league, any you simply have to take it, especially considering the option of the final outcome.