Salavat Yulaev vs Traktor. Will the Ufa team be able to equalize the series score?

The second game of the first round of the Gagarin Cup playoffs between Salavat Yulaev and Traktor will take place on March 2. The rivals will play again in Ufa, on the ice of the local Ufa Arena. At the moment the score in the series is 1-0 in favor of Traktor.

• Expert Predictions Analysis
• Statistics
• Odds
• Game Totals Prediction

Our Expert Predictions & Analysis on Salavat Yulaev vs Traktor

Salavat Yulaev

For the third season in a row, the Ufa team has finished the regular season among the three best teams in the Eastern Conference. This season, Salavat Yulaev took a small step back, after finishing second in the 2022/23 season, now finishing third. The high place last season did not bring any special dividends to the Ufa team; the team was eliminated from the playoffs after the first round, sensationally losing in six matches to Admiral from Vladivostok.

Now our opponents in the first round are Chelyabinsk Traktor, a team that the Ufa team beat four times during the last regular season. However, the starting segment of the first match was clearly unsuccessful for the Ufa team. Viktor Kozlov's team managed to concede a goal while playing in the majority, openly blundering the devastating counterattack of the Chelyabinsk club. In the second period, the score became 0-2, but after a powerful end to the period, the Ufa team, through the efforts of Bashkirov and Naumenko, managed to equalize the score. It would seem that in the final segment of the match Salavat would put the finishing touches on his opponent, but another defensive mistake in the 58th minute became fatal for the Ufa team.

Traktor

The Chelyabinsk team, compared to last season, took a serious step forward, after finishing ninth and missing out on the cup stage, finishing in sixth position this season. To do this, Traktor had to go through a change of coach during the season, sending Anvar Gatiyatulin, who seemed unsinkable for Chelyabinsk, into retirement. Alexei Zavarukhin, who replaced him, added much-needed stability to the team, which allowed the Chelyabinsk team to close the question of getting into the playoffs long before the end of the regular season.

Despite the fact that Traktor went to Ufa as an underdog, the Chelyabinsk team played the opening match of the cup series noticeably better than the hosts. Already in the fifth minute of the first period, Alexander Sharov calmly used a one-on-one situation, while the Chelyabinsk team played in the minority. In the second period, Albert Yarullin scored with an accurate shot, creating a comfortable advantage of two goals. An inexplicable failure at the end of the second period cost Traktor two missed goals, but in the 58th minute of the match Georgy Dronov scored his first goal for Traktor of the season, allowing the Chelyabinsk team to start the playoffs with an away victory.

Statistics

The Ufa team was noticeably stronger than their opponent during the regular season, having managed to win four victories in four games, all of which were won in regulation time. It is worth noting the high performance of Salavat's hockey players in these games, three times the Ufa players scored four goals and once five. Individual Total 1 over(3.5) 2.34. The first game between these rivals in the current playoffs ended with a score of 3-2 in favour of Traktor, and before this game the Chelyabinskers had lost four games in a row in Ufa. The overall statistics of the games between these rivals in the KHL at the moment is as follows - 53 games played, Salavat Yulaev has 32 wins, while Traktor has 21 wins. The puck difference is 146 to 106 in favour of the Ufa club.

Odds from download 1xbet

Despite the defeat in the first match, the bookmaker continues to believe in the Ufa club, setting odds of 1.87 for Salavat Yulaev to win in regular time. Traktor’s second win in a row can be taken with odds of 3.6, a draw in regulation time – 4.1. As for the expected performance, 1xbet offers the following quotes: total over (4.5) – 1.84, total under (4.5) – 1.94. Install the 1xbet app and place a bet on the favorite!

Game Totals Prediction

The result of the first match did not particularly affect the situation in this pair; Salavat Yulaev continues to be the favorite of the confrontation as a whole, while the second defeat in a row on home ice can psychologically break the Ufa hockey players. The cautious start of the first match was a negative for Salavat, so in the second match we can expect a more aggressive game from the hosts in attack. Our prediction is Salavat Yulaev’s Individual Total is more than 2.5 with odds of 1.84.