Ak Bars - Shanghai Dragons. Betting Tip (cf. 1.73) and bets on the KHL match

Current form

Ak Bars remains in the second position in the East, but in the near future it risks falling slightly lower. Anvar Gatiyatullin's team has scored 42 points in 32 starts and is just one point ahead of Avangard, which has two meetings in reserve. Kazan had a very strong October and did not lose a single match, but with the beginning of the new month, the expected decline began for the hosts. The Leopards do not play consistently and alternate between successful series and defeats. Before returning home, Dmitry Yashkin's squad was able to take away two points from Nizhnekamsk (3:2), and then they were stronger than the dragons in St. Petersburg (3:2, B). The Cats could not cope with Spartak's defense in the capital (0:1), but they confidently outplayed SKA on the ice of Tatneft Arena (5:2).

The club from the Republic of Tatarstan started putting pressure on the gates of the army team from the very first minutes and it immediately bore fruit. Dmitry Yashkin led his team ahead and only at the start of the second leg did the opponent manage to win back. Ilya Safonov and Artyom Galimov again provided their partners with an advantage, and at the beginning of the final segment Ilya Karpukhin and Nikita Melnyak finished off their opponents.

Mitch Miller hasn't scored a point in five consecutive games, but remains the team's top scorer. The defender scored 23 goals (10+13).

Disqualifications and injuries

Albert Yarullin will not play against the Chinese.

Interesting betting trends

• Ak Bars throws 33 times per game on average
• The hosts perform 20 power moves per meeting

Current form

The Shanghai Dragons have dropped to seventh place in the conference and are at risk of dropping out of the top eight in the West. The team led by Gerard Galland has 33 points in its piggy bank after 30 games and is just one point ahead of the Army team from St. Petersburg and two ahead of their teammates from Moscow. The Chinese got off to a great start this season, but since mid-October they have been losing very often. After successfully completing the last away series and victories in Novosibirsk (3:0) and Yaroslavl (4:3, OT), Fu Shuai and partners lost to Ak Bars on their ice (2:3, B), and after that they were defeated in Chelyabinsk (0:9) and Nizhnekamsk (5:7).

The Dragons conceded the majority in the first period of the match against Neftekhimik, but Ryan Spooner and Kevin Labank led their squad ahead before the end of the first period. In just five minutes of the second segment, the guests were back in the role of catching up, but Austin Wagner restored equality on the scoreboard. Another disastrous period occurred at the start of the third 20 minutes, when the Shanghai team conceded three times, but Kevin Labank brought his team back into the game by scoring twice. The Dragons didn't have enough for more, and they missed once more through an empty gate.

Nick Merkley made two assists in Nizhnekamsk and consolidated his leadership in the list of the club's top scorers. The Canadian scored 25 points (13+12) in the goal+pass system.

Disqualifications and injuries

Jeremy Grolo and Jake Bischoff will not come with the team to Kazan.

Interesting betting trends

• Shanghai is blocking 13 shots this season.
• The Dragons win 46.8% of face-offs in the regular season