Severstal, Metallurg hit the ice seeking 8th win in a row!

Two long winning streaks are still alive, and Severstal and Metallurg will try to stretch them facing Avtomobilist and Lokomotiv, respectively. Five games are on tap with Ak Bars facing Sibir, Dinamo Minsk visiting Nizhny Novgorod, and SKA welcoming Spartak.

It will be an exciting KHL Friday, with five games on tap and plenty of emotions waiting for the fans. Severstal and Metallurg are two of the hottest teams in the league right now, and both sides are vying eight wins in a row - in case, it will be a record for the Cherepovets franchise. Dinamo Minsk, who faces Torpedo tonight, is currently the fifth seed in the West, tied with Severstal at 30 points: the rankings are getting shorter, and the competition is tighter than ever, with six teams in a five-point span.

In the East, Kazan hosts Sibir - we talked about how the rankings are shorter, and for now, three Eastern teams, including Novosibirsk, are tied at 21 points in a full-swing playoff race. The second clash of SKA and Spartak of the season closes an exciting KHL matchday.

17:00: Ak Bars (15-7-4) vs Sibir (9-12-3)

About the game
Ak Bars is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Avangard on Sunday.
Sibir starts a three-game road trip and lost to Jokerit on Monday.
Sibir's goalie Anton Krasotkin is on a 60:00 shutout streak.

Injury list
Ak Bars: Nikolai Kovalenko, Par Lindholm.
Sibir: Nikita Komarov, Trevor Murphy, Alexei Yakovlev.

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.
Sibir's goalie Harri Sateri may reach 20 KHL shutouts.

17:00: Lokomotiv (12-9-4) vs Metallurg (23-2-0)

About the game
Lokomotiv starts a two-match home series and lost to Torpedo on Tuesday.
Metallurg is at its second of a four-match road trip and is on a fantastic seven-game winning streak.

Injury list
Lokomotiv: Andre Petersson.
Metallurg: Grigory Dronov, Yaroslav Khabarov.

17:00: Severstal (14-8-2) vs Avtomobilist (12-9-5)

About the game
Severstal is at its third of a four-game home series and is on a fantastic seven-game winning streak.
Avtomobilist is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to CSKA on Tuesday.
Tonight, Severstal may break the club's record for the most consecutive wins.

Injury list
Severstal: Makar Khabarov, Yegor Morozov.
Avtomobilist: Sergei Zborovsky.

Milestone alert:
Avtomobilist's forward Stanislav Bocharov may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 198).
His teammate Ryan Spooner may break the 100-point barrier (currently at 99).

17:00: Torpedo (11-11-3) vs Dinamo Minsk (14-8-2)

About the game
Torpedo is at its second of a six-game series and defeated Lokomotiv on Tuesday.
Dinamo Minsk starts a two-match road trip and lost its previous couple of games.
Dinamo Minsk already defeated Torpedo this season (4:3).
Dinamo Minks's forward Tyler Graovac collected an assist in each of its previous three games.

Injury list
Torpedo: Marek Hrivik.
Dinamo Minsk: Mario Kempe, Lukas Krejcik.

Milestone alert
Torpedo's forward Damir Zhafyarov may net his 100th KHL goal (currently at 98).
Torpedo's goalie Andrei Tikhomirov may play his 100th career game.

17:00: SKA (17-4-4) vs Spartak (13-11-1)

About the game
SKA ends a two-game home series and lost to Metallurg on Tuesday.
Spartak ends a three-game road trip and is on a three-loss streak.
SKA already defeated Spartak this season (2:0).
SKA's forward Andrei Kuzmenko is on a five-game scoring streak, with 9 (6+3) points over that span.

Milestone alert
SKA's defenseman Vasily Tokranov may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
His teammate Danila Moiseyev lines up for his 200th career game.