Spartak Moscow can reach the playoffs today if Sochi fails to defeat Severstal. Likewise, Barys can reach the playoffs if it manages to defeat Neftekhimik AND Kunlun fails to win against Traktor.
Sadly for Latvian KHL fans, Dinamo Riga will miss out on any chance of making the playoffs if it loses against Dynamo Moscow OR Torpedo gains even one point against Lokomotiv.
Elsewhere, Avtomobilist concludes a 4-game homestand looking to end its 2-game losing streak while SKA will do the same hoping to win its fourth in a row. Its opponent, Avangard, is shooting for its eighth straight win, so fans can get excited about what should be quite the doozy this evening!
Barys is playing the 1st of two straight home games.
Neftekhimik is playing the 3rd of three straight road games.
Barys is coming into this contest having won its last game.
Neftekhimik is coming into this contest on a 2-game losing streak.
Barys defeated Neftekhimik this season by a score of 5-1.
Videll has points in 5 straight games, going 3-7-10 over that span.
Berglund has points in 3 straight games, going 2-1-3 over that span.
Barys: Iiro Pakarinen
Neftekhimik: Bulat Shafigullin
Defenseman Ziyat Paigin is hoping to suit up for his 200th career KHL game (currently at 199).
Avtomobilist is playing the 4th of four straight home games.
Dinamo Minsk is playing the 2nd of five straight road games.
Avtomobilist is coming into this contest having lost two in a row.
Dinamo Minsk is also coming into this contest having lost two in a row.
Platt has points in 3 straight games, going 2-1-3 over that span.
Avtomobilist: Denis Bodrov, Artyom Gareyev, Jakub Kovar, Nikolai Stasenko, Alexander Kucheryavenko, Stepan Khripunov
Dinamo Minsk: Sergei Kostitsyn, Stefan Elliott, Oleg Yevenko, Nikita Tolopilo
Defenseman Marc-Andre Gragnani is hoping to collect his 100th career KHL assist (currently at 99).
Metallurg is playing the 1st of three straight home games.
Jokerit is playing the 1st of three straight road games.
Metallurg is coming into this game fresh of a loss.
Jokerit is coming into this game on a 3-game winning streak.
Jokerit last defeated Metallurg in Magnitogorsk on October 22, 2015, by a score of 3-2.
Antipin has points in 3 straight games, going 1-3-4 over that span.
Kontiola has points in 3 straight games, going 1-3-4 over that span.
Lehtonen is hoping to tie the club record for regular season points by a defenseman set by Mika Stromborg with 42 in the 96-97 season. Lehtonen currently has 41.
Jokerit: Henri Ikonen, Oliver Lauridsen
Forward Veli-Matti Savinainen is hoping to suit up for his 200th career KHL game (currently at 199).
Traktor is playing the 2nd of two straight home games.
Kunlun is playing the 3rd of three straight road games.
Traktor is coming into this contest on a 4-game losing streak.
Kunlun is coming into this contest on a 2-game losing streak.
The teams have exchanged victories against each other this season, each having beaten the other by a score of 2-1.
Traktor has never won a KHL home game against Kunlun, but it did when a game in Chelyabinsk as the guest team on October 18th, 2017, by an overtime score of 3-2.
Murphy has points in 5 straight games, going 2-3-5 over that span.
Traktor: Sergei Konkov, Artyom Mikheyev, Nikita Shcherbak
Kunlun: David Bondra, Alex Riche, Brayden Jaw
Forward Anton Glinkin is hoping to score his 100th career KHL goal (currently at 99).
Lokomotiv is playing the 1st of two straight home games.
Torpedo is playing the 3rd of three straight road games.
Lokomotiv is coming into this game on a 2-game winning streak.
Torpedo is coming into this game on a 3-game losing streak.
Torpedo has defeated Lokomotiv three times this season by scores of 4-3, 2-1, and 3-1.
Lokomotiv: Forward Pavel Kudryavtsev will miss this game while serving a 1-game suspension.
Forward Kirill Urakov is hoping to suit up for his 200th career KHL game (currently at 199).
Forward Mikhail Varnakov is hoping to collect his 350th career KHL point (currently at 349).
Dynamo Moscow is playing the 3rd of four straight home games.
Dinamo Riga is playing the 2nd of three straight road games.
Dynamo Moscow is coming into this game on a 2-game winning streak.
Dinamo Riga is coming into this game on a 7-game losing streak.
Dynamo Moscow has defeated Dinamo Riga twice this season by scores of 4-1 and 4-3 in OT.
Dynamo Moscow: Sergei Boikov, Kirill Lyamin
Dinamo Riga: Kristaps Zile
Forward Daniil Apalkov is hoping to collect his 200th career KHL point (currently at 199).
SKA is playing the 4th of four straight home games.
Avangard is playing the 1st of three straight road games.
SKA is coming into this game on a 3-game winning streak.
Avangard is coming into this game on a tremendous 7-game winning streak.
Avangard defeated SKA earlier this season by a score of 3-2.
Semenov has points in 3 straight games, going 0-6-6 over that span.
Zernov has points in 3 straight games, going 1-2-3 over that span.
Hellberg has played 70:04 straight minutes without allowing a goal against.
Kuzmenko has points in 3 straight games, going 2-2-4 over that span.
Marchenko has points in 3 straight games, going 1-3-4 over that span.
Morozov has points in 3 straight games, going 4-2-6 over that span.
Podkolzin has points in 4 straight games, going 2-2-4 over that span.
SKA: Alexander Barabanov, Anton Burdasov
Avangard: Alexei Emelin, Alexei Bondarov, Alexander Sudnitsin, Maxim Chudinov
Forward Ilya Kablukov is hoping to suit up for his 700th career KHL game (currently at 699).
Sochi is playing the 2nd of three straight home games.
Severstal is playing the 1st of three straight road games.
Sochi is coming into this contest on a 2-game losing streak.
Severstal is coming into this contest having lost its last game.
The teams have exchanged victories against each other this season, each having won by a score of 4-2.
Severstal last defeated Sochi in Sochi on February 20th, 2015, by an overtime score of 5-4.
Lugin has points in 3 straight games, going 1-2-3 over that span.
Geraskin has points in 3 straight games, going 2-2-4 over that span.
Sochi: Pavel Makarenko, Nikita Shchitov, Artyom Tomilin, Dmitri Shikin
Severstal: Daniil Vovchenko, Kirill Kapustin
Severstal: Defenseman Vladislav Provolnev will miss this game while serving the 1st of a 3-game suspension.