Clash of two conference titans as Avtomobilist hosts SKA! Preview Jan 8

Jokerit hosts troublemakers from Dynamo Moscow, Avtomobilist could clinch playoff spot.

Avtomobilist can qualify for the playoffs should it gain at least one point against SKA 

OR 

should Kunlun Red Star fail to win in regulation time against Salavat.

14:30 Avtomobilist (36-8-1) vs. SKA (33-6-4)

About the game

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

- SKA is coming into this contest on a 5-game winning streak.

- Avtomobilist is on a 1-game homestand.

- SKA is playing the 6th of six straight road games.

- SKA defeated Avtomobilist earlier this season by a score of 5-2.

- Still, SKA has lost its last three games against Avtomobilist in Yekaterinburg.

- Kovar has played 84:33 straight minutes without allowing a goal against.

Injury list

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

- SKA: Vasili Tokranov, Patrik Hersley

Milestone alert

- Forward Nikolai Prokhorkin is hoping to score his 100th career KHL goal.

14:30 Salavat (24-16-6) vs. Kunlun (17-21-7)

About the game

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

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

- Salavat is playing the 2nd of four straight home games.

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

- Salavat defeated Kunlun earlier this season 5-0

- Metsola has played 88:27 straight minutes without allowing a goal against.

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

Injury list

- Kunlun: Krisjanis Redlihs, Johan Sundstrom, Cory Kane, Blake Parlett, Marc-André Gragnani, Veli-Matti Savinainen, Josh Nicholls, Oskars Bartulis (expected to be out until January 31st)

Milestone alert

- Forward Dmitry Kugryshev is hoping to score his 100th overall KHL goal.

16:30 Barys (28-9-7) vs. Amur (12-25-7)

About the game

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

- Amur is coming into this contest on a 3-game losing streak.

- Barys is playing the 1st of five straight home games.

- Amur is playing the 3rd of four straight road games.

- Amur has defeated Barys twice in close games this season, 6-5 and 2-1.

- Karlsson has played 66:23 straight minutes without allowing a goal against.

- Dietz has points in 5 straight games, going 2-5-7 over that span.

Injury list

- Amur: Jan Kolar, Pavel Turbin, Anton Lazarev, Yegor Zhuravlyov

Milestone alert

- Forward Vyacheslav Ushenin is looking to collect his 100th career regular season KHL point.

17:00 Lokomotiv (29-14-3) vs. CSKA (39-6)

About the game

- Lokomotiv is coming into this contest having won its last two games.

- CSKA is coming into this contest on a 6-game winning streak.

- Lokomotiv is playing the 5th of six straight home games.

- CSKA is playing the 3rd of three straight road games.

- Lokomotiv defeated CSKA earlier this season by a score of 3-1.

- Konovalov has played 74:41 straight minutes without allowing a goal against.

Injury list

- Lokomotiv: Vladislav Kartayev, Petri Kontiola, Pavel Kraskovsky, Andrei Loktionov

Suspensions

- Lokomotiv: Artur Kayumov is serving the 10th of a 13-game suspension.

Milestone alert

- Forward Stepan Sannikov is hoping to collect his 100th career KHL assist.

- Forward Daniil Apalkov is hoping to collect his 100th career regular season KHL assist.

- Defenseman Alexei Marchenko is hoping to suit up for his 200th career KHL game.

- Forward Sergei Andronov is looking to collect his 100th career KHL point.

17:00 Severstal (12-29-4) vs. Dinamo Riga (19-20-6)

About the game

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

- Dinamo Riga is coming into this contest fresh off a victory.

- Severstal is playing the 4th of four straight home games.

- Dinamo is playing the 3rd of four straight road games.

- Severstal and Riga have played twice this season. Severstal won the first game 3-2 in OT, but then lost the second game 3-0.

- Furch has played 60:44 straight minutes of shutout hockey.

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

Injury list

- Severstal: Nikolai Kazakovtsev, Konstantin Korneyev, Dmitry Megalinsky

19:30 Jokerit (29-10-6) vs. Dynamo Moscow (24-19-4)

About the game

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

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

- Jokerit is playing the 3rd of three straight home games.

- Dynamo is playing the 1st of four straight road games.

- Dynamo has beaten Jokerit twice this season, 2-0 and 4-3 in OT.

- Jokerit has lost its last nine contests against Dynamo. Talk about a nemesis.

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

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

Injury list

- Jokerit: Marko Anttila, Eemeli Rasanen

- Dynamo: Andrei Alexeyev, Maxim Afinogenov, Miika Koivisto

Milestone alert

- Defenseman Jesper Jensen is hoping to suit up for his 200th career KHL game.

19:30 Dinamo Minsk (13-28-4) vs. Slovan (12-32-3)

About the game

- Dinamo Minsk is coming into this contest on a 2-game losing streak.

- Slovan is coming into this contest on a 3-game losing streak.

- Dinamo is playing the 3rd of three straight home games.

- Slovan is playing the 3rd of three straight road games.

- Dinamo defeated Slovan once this season by a score of 2-1.

- Slovan has lost the last 5 games it has played in Minsk.

Injury list

- Dinamo: Alexander Pavlovich