Top clash in East: Ak Bars hosts Avtomobolist! Preview for December 17th

KHL regular season resumes with five games from Shanghai to Balashikha.

14:30 Kunlun (14-15-7) vs. Amur (10-19-7)

About the game

- Kunlun is coming into this contest on a 5-game losing streak.

- Amur is coming into this contest having won its last game.

- Kunlun is playing the 1st of six straight home games.

- Amur is playing the 1st of three straight road games.

- Kunlun has lost three of four all-time home games against Amur.

- Rudenkov leads Amur in scoring with just 11 goals and 18 points.

Injury list

- Kunlun: Krisjanis Redlihs, Johan Sundstrom, Marc-Andre Gragnani

- Amur: Jan Kolar, Maxim Kondratyev, Pavel Turbin, Alexei Murygin, Anton Lazarev

Milestone alert

- Forward Wojtek Wolski is hoping to collect his 200th career regular season KHL point.

19:00 Ak Bars (28-8-3) vs. Avtomobilist (31-6-1)

About the game

- Ak Bars is coming into this contest on a 2-game winning streak.

- Avtomobilist is coming into this contest on a 4-game winning streak.

- Ak Bars is playing the 1st of three straight home games.

- Avtomobilist is playing the 1st of three straight road games.

- Ak Bars beat Avtomobilist once this season by a score of 4-3.

- Dawes has points in 4 straight games, going 4-5-9 over that span.

- Bodrov has points in 4 straight games, going 1-4-5 over that span.

- Kucheryavenko has points in 4 straight games, going 1-3-4 over that span.

- Sexton has points in 3 straight games, going 0-4-4 over that span.

- Paré has points in 3 straight games, going 4-0-4 over that span.

Injury list

- Ak Bars: Anton Lander, Fyodor Malykhin, Dmitry Yudin

- Avtomobilist: Georgi Belousov, Vitali Popov, Stanislav Yegorshev, Vyacheslav Litovchenko

19:00 Neftekhimik (15-19-4) vs. Traktor (16-17-3)

About the game

- Neftekhimik is coming into this contest fresh off a victory.

- Traktor is also coming into this contest fresh off a victory.

- Neftekhimik is playing the 1st of three straight road games.

- Traktor is playing the 4th of seven straight road games.

- The clubs have played twice this season, each having won a game. Neftekhimik won 4-1 and Traktor won 3-2.

- Puustinen has points in 4 straight games, going 2-2-4 over that span.

Injury list

- Traktor: Danil Gubarev, Nikita Khlystov, Richard Gynge, Igor Polygalov

19:00 Torpedo (20-12-6) vs. Metallurg (25-13-2)

About the game

- Torpedo is coming into this contest on a 3-game winning streak.

- Metallurg is coming into this contest having lost its last game.

- Torpedo is playing the 3rd of a 5-game homestand.

- Metallurg is playing 1st of four straight road games.

- The two teams have met twice this season, with each having won one of the contests. Torpedo won 3-2 and Metallurg won 5-4.

- Parshin has points in 3 straight games, going 1-3-4 over that span.

- Shenfeld has points in 3 straight games, going 1-4-5 over that span.

- Sabolic has points in 3 straight games, going 2-2-4 over that span.

Injury list

- Torpedo: Mikhail Varnakov, Kirill Urakov

Milestone alert

- Forward Vladimir Galuzin is looking to collect his 100th career regular season assist in the KHL.

- Forward Damir Zhafyarov is looking to collect his 100th career KHL point.

19:30 Avangard (25-11-3) vs. Jokerit (24-8-4)

About the game

- Avangard is coming into this contest fresh off a win.

- Jokerit is also coming into this contest fresh off a loss.

- Avangard is playing the 1st of four straight home games.

- Jokerit is playing the 1st of two straight road games.

- Earlier this season, Jokerit beat Avangard by a score of 7-4.

- Vesalainen has points in 4 straight games, going 2-2-4 over that span.

- Moses has points in 3 straight games, going 3-1-4 over that span.

- O’Neill has points in 3 straight games, going 1-3-4 over that span.

Injury list

- Avangard: Karri Ramo, Yegor Martynov

- Jokerit: Peter Regin, Marko Anttila, Eemeli Rasanen

Suspensions

- Avangard: David Desharnais is serving the 3rd game of a 3-game suspension

Milestone alert

- Forward Brian O’Neill is looking to collect his 100th career regular season KHL point.