| There is complete clarity in the regular season There are only ten rounds left before the end of the regular season in the Super League. According to the laws of the genre, the tension in the tournament should reach its climax right now. But, alas, the situation now is such that the championship can safely end even today. There will be no more major changes anyway. All key questions have already been answered. The composition of the Cup eight and the duo of outsiders are also clear. Such a calm finish seemed unreal a month ago, but the intrigue really disappeared.
At first glance, the fight for the eighth spot in the cup round is far from over. The gap between Ufa's Salavat Yulaev and the playoff zone is six points, and eliminating it in ten rounds is a completely solvable task. But this is in theory, but practice shows that the Ufa team, in fact, is finishing the championship, having come to terms with the early end of the season. It is difficult to evaluate otherwise the winless streak of five matches that the Yulaev team put together at such a crucial moment.
“The reasons for the failure of the game are probably within the team. For some reason, the guys lost the desire to play,” laments Salavat head coach Nikolai Makarov. Meanwhile, fans are already actively discussing the candidacy of his successor. The goal for the season was very specific - reaching the playoffs. If you fail, wait for a new mentor! How to solve a complex problem if “the kids have lost the desire to play”?
True, in the last round the Ufa team pleased their team with a confident victory over Severstal - 5:0. But this success should hardly be overestimated. The “steelworkers” now have only nominal tournament motivation. Of course, they have not yet completely protected themselves from parting with the super league, but, on the other hand, everyone understands perfectly well that Khabarovsk “Amur” will not be able to climb out of the abyss. A series of eight defeats eloquently suggests that the Far Easterners have already resigned themselves to their fate. And together with the Nizhny Novgorod Torpedo team they will play in the major league next season. Unless the elite division is expanded.
But only fans of “Amur” and “Torpedo” gossip about this saving straw. In higher circles this topic is not even raised. Although the President of the Russian Hockey Federation, Alexander Steblin, recently stated unequivocally that the Super League could soon be expanded. “But not now,” the head of our hockey said abruptly. A comparison with last year's story suggests itself. Then two capital teams - Spartak and Krylya Sovetov - were in the “risk group”, and their leaders, long before the finish of the championship, began a rescue campaign by expanding the league. Having gathered a sufficient number of supporters, the fighters for increasing the number of clubs in the elite division began a desperate struggle with the “conservatives,” which almost led to a split in our hockey. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and the established rules of the game were followed. The Super League, as expected, was reduced from 18 to 16 teams, and the “reformers” this season took their rightful places in the second division.
Now no one is calling to save hockey in Khabarovsk and Nizhny Novgorod, allowing them to maintain representation in the elite company, albeit at the cost of expanding the league. On the contrary, everyone is quietly rejoicing from the bottom of their hearts that “Cupid” is saying goodbye to the “high society.” How nice it is to think that extreme travel to Khabarovsk (seven hours of direct flight from Moscow!) is already a thing of the past! We must assume that if “Amur” unexpectedly shows signs of life and begins to score points, it will still not be allowed to get to the saving 14th place. It is too undesirable for other clubs to be in the same league with “residents of another planet,” as Khabarovsk residents are sometimes called in hockey circles, comparing the terrible flight to the Far East with a space odyssey.
Results of the latest matches: "Lada" - SKA - 1:0, "Salavat Yulaev" - "Severstal" - 5:0, "Metallurg" (NK) - "Khimik" - 3:2, "Sibir" " - Avangard - 2:1 (OT), Dynamo - Amur - 6:0, Metallurg (MG) - CSKA - 7:1.
Super League I V V N PO P S H O | 1. “Metallurg” Mg | 51 | 29 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 145--107 | 95 | | 2. "Lada" | 50 | 28 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 13 | 107--81 | 94 | | 3. Dynamo | 51 | 24 | 2 | 10 | 1 | 14 | 119--93 | 87 | | 4. Ak Bars | 50 | 24 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 17 | 130-102 | 85 | | 5. "Vanguard" | 50 | 23 | 2 | 9 | 2 | 14 | 147--119 | 84 | | 6. “Metallurg” Nk | 51 | 23 | 2 | 7 | 4 | 15 | 113--96 | 84 | | 7. "Neftekhimik" | 50 | 24 | 1 | 5 | 1 | 19 | 114--102 | 80 | | 8. "Lokomotiv" | 50 | 23 | 1 | 7 | 1 | 18 | 128--100 | 79 | | 9. “Salavat Yulaev” | 50 | 22 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 21 | 114--110 | 73 | | 10. "Siberia" | 51 | 17 | 2 | 11 | 2 | 19 | 90--102 | 68 | | 11. CSKA | 51 | 18 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 23 | 102--123 | 68 | | 12. SKA | 51 | 14 | 2 | 10 | 3 | 22 | 104--123 | 59 | | 13. Severstal | 51 | 15 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 26 | 109--130 | 58 | | 14. "Chemist" | 50 | 14 | 2 | 8 | 2 | 24 | 97--131 | 56 | | 15. "Cupid" | 51 | 12 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 28 | 89--127 | 48 | | 16. "Torpedo" | 50 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 2 | 31 | 77--139 | 41 |
Victor SHUMOV
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