Jokerit faces Sibir trying to build momentum

After a convincing win in Vladivostok on Saturday, the Finnish side keeps on trying to catch SKA up on the top of the Western Conference. Ak Bars faces Avangard in the other Sunday's big game.

Niklas Jensen's four-point performance and a solid team effort gifted Jokerit its fifteenth win of the season. The Jokers continue their Eastern Conference trip with a visit to Novosibirsk. The local Sibir team is on a hot streak with five straight wins, and it won't be easy for Lauri Marjamaki's men to defeat them for yet another victory.

After trashing Ak Bars at home with a 5:0 score, Traktor hosts Vityaz trying to get hold of precious points. Metallurg seems to be unreachable in the standings right now, but just a misstep, and Traktor will be on the Steel Foxes' tail.

Later, Ak bars hosts Avangard in Sunday's other big match. The Kazan side will want to get revenge of the defeat suffered by the hand of Traktor, while Avangard is just the sixth seed in the East - both teams have enough arguments to seek a victory.

In the matchday's closing game, Neftekhimik hosts Kunlun Red Star.

15:00: Traktor (18-5-2) vs Vityaz (6-12-6)

About the game
Traktor is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Ak Bars on Saturday.
Vityaz ends a three-match road trip and is on a three-game losing streak.
Traktor already defeated Vityaz this season (4:3).
Traktor's goalie Emil Garipov is on a 63:55 shutout streak.

Injury list
Traktor: Tomas Hyka, Evgeny Kulik, Lawrence Pilut, Alexei Potapov, Andrei Stas.
Vityaz: Igor Golovkov

Milestone alert
Vityaz's defenseman Kirill Lyamin plays his 700th KHL game tonight.
Vityaz's defenseman Viktor Antipin may reach the 200-point mark tonight, as he's currently at 198.
Vityaz's forward Fyodor Malykhin may score his 100th KHL goal tonight, currently sitting at 99.

15:30: Sibir (9-11-3) vs Jokerit (15-5-4)

About the game
Sibir ends a five-match home series and is on a four-match winning streak.
Jokerit is at its third of a six-game road trip and defeated Admiral on Saturday.
Sibir lost its previous three home games against Jokerit with an identical score (3:4, 3:4, 3:4 OT).
Sibir's goalie Anton Krasotkin is on a 60:00 shutout streak.

Injury list
Sibir: Viktor Komarov, Trevor Murphy, Alexei Yakovlev.
Jokerit: Henrik Haapala

Milestone alert
Sibir's goalie Harri Sateri may reach 250 games and 20 shutouts in the KHL.
Jokerit's forwards Marko Anttila and Jordan Schroeder may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99 and 98, respectively).

19:00: Ak Bars (14-7-4) vs Avangard (13-9-0)

About the game
Ak Bars starts a three-game home series and is on a two-match losing streak.
Avangard starts a three-game road trip and defeated Salavat Yulaev on Friday.
Ak Bars already defeated Avangard this season (3:2).

Injury list
Ak Bars: Nikolai Kovalenko, Par Lindholm.
Avangard: Sergei Tolchinsky.

Suspensions
Ak Bars' forward Dmitry Voronkov serves a 1-game ban.

Milestone alert
Ak Bars goalie Igor Bobkov may record his 30th career shutout, while his teammate Timur Bilyalov may reach 20.
Ak Bars forward Dmitry Kagarlitsky may break the 150-goal mark, being currently at 149.

19:30: Neftekhimik (9-11-3) vs Kunlun Red Star (5-16-2)

About the game
Neftekhimik starts a three-game home series and is on a two-match winning streak.
Kunlun is in the middle of a three-match road trip and is on a deep eight-game losing streak.
Neftekhimik already defeated Kunlun twice this season (5:1, 4:2).
Neftekhimik's forward Marat Khairullin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Neftekhimik's defenseman Lukas Knok is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.

Injury list
Neftekhimik: Timur Sharifyanov.
Kunlun Red Star: Colin Joe.

Milestone alert
Neftekhimik's forward Marat Khairullin may score his 100th KHL point tonight (currently at 99).
Kunlun's goalie Alexander Lazushin may line up for his 300th career game.