CSKA Moscow faced unusual difficulties. Having lost at home to St. Petersburg SKA, the capital's army team suffered their fifth defeat in a row in this KHL regular season. Something like this has not happened to the “red-blues” since 2011, when they recorded an unsuccessful, anti-record streak of eight lost matches in a row.
CSKA’s problems have been talked about from the very beginning of the season. Since its start, Sergei Fedorov's charges have been performing inconsistently and have not yet been able to get out of the bottom of the top 8 of the Eastern Conference.
Over the course of these several months, one of the main arguments of critics has been the fact that the players were allegedly fed up with victories. They say that they have already achieved everything, and nothing motivates them. Such talk seems complete nonsense to me. I was in the champion locker room of CSKA after their victory in the series with Ak Bars, and even though there were no ultra-vivid celebrations that could have turned into memes and stories, but it was clearly visible from the faces of the hockey players how highly they valued their own success . CSKA has assembled a large team of men with self-respect and enormous pride in the good sense of the word – they respect themselves and their work too much to simply spit on the idea of going for the third Gagarin Cup in a row. And this season, after yet another setback, there is no sense of indifference in the army locker room: towards oneself, towards hockey, towards the work process.
In the first 2-2.5 months of the championship, I was sure that the unconvincing results (and sometimes the game itself) resulted from the fact that CSKA essentially continued its pre-season preparations. And for Sergei Fedorov’s team this fact was justified. They finished last season later than everyone else and, accordingly, went on vacation. And it was really necessary. Let me just remind you that, taking into account the playoffs, CSKA played 95 matches out of 96 possible. Not a single KHL club has worked under such a load. At the same time, the composition of the “red-blues” has practically not changed at all; no fresh blood has arrived there. But the overall level of the team allows it to exchange part of the regular season not for fighting for first place in the table right off the bat, but for preparing to get in the right shape for the playoffs. Although, of course, none of the army players will say that – the status of the club does not allow it.
However, my view of the situation is confirmed by CSKA's performances right now. Even before the pause in the championship, the “red-blues” looked very nice in terms of the structure of the game, but it didn’t happen once in a while – sometimes the hockey played by the army team really seemed insipid. But the fact that the team had the necessary reserves remained important. And he still seems huge to me.
Sergei Fedorov himself noted in public and other conversations that his players will definitely improve, none of them have forgotten how to play. Sergei Viktorovich understands much more about hockey than many of us. CSKA's reserves are already visible today. Yes, there is a series of defeats, but in the last matches the army team are performing very solidly. At least in attack.
The problem remains the implementation of chances. The game against SKA showed this once again. But there are moments, there are many of them, and in the future this fact plays a big role. If the “red-blues” break through, then the opponents will not find it hard. The play of Fedorov’s team in the majority looks truly crisis-prone. If the general picture makes it clear what kind of hockey CSKA plays, then their actions with a numerical advantage do not. It is this component that currently raises big questions. But not defensive play or, for example, the goalie line.
Let's take Ivan Fedotov. His return to CSKA is a different story. It will play into the hands of Russian hockey on the international stage, and in principle it will damage our image. But, firstly, the leaders of the army team are unlikely to be bothered by who and what thinks of them – after all, they work for their club, and not someone else. Secondly, in this situation I am talking exclusively about Fedotov’s play. Ivan's uncertain start was predictable. A little over a year without professional hockey could not help but take its toll on the Russian goalkeeper, so missing goals in unobvious moments did not come as a surprise. But Ivan has already gotten into good shape. He has a percentage of 91.2% of saved shots, and in terms of goals saved (4), he is among the leaders among all goalies of the KHL season, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he really pulls through the playoffs. Remember how everyone doubted Adam Reideborn after the not-so-convincing regular season last season? But in the end, the Swede brought gold to CSKA.
It will not be surprising for me that the army team got into the final this year. Now for many this seems like something fantastic. But, I repeat, CSKA has, in my opinion, a large game reserve. Let's also take into account the fact that many of the goals missed by the army team are the result of individual mistakes. But those that are worth calling are probably stupid: due to lack of concentration or something like that. In the playoffs, experienced CSKA players are unlikely to allow this to happen. Therefore, I would not rush to discount the army team. Their failures now are dust in the eyes.
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors.
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