Dinamo Riga travels to Neftekhimik hoping to revert the trend!
After a shocking loss in Kazan, where Riga was up in the score with less than ten minutes to go, Dinamo moves to the other Tatarstan KHL team trying to revert its losing streak. Moreover, Ak Bars hosts SKA for the battle of the day.
Six games are on tap on this KHL Thursday, with Dinamo Riga facing off with Neftekhimik after a bitter loss to Ak Bars on Monday. The Latvians were up 2:1 until the 51st minute, when a tally by Daniil Tarasov changed the game’s momentum and handed the hosts a win. Dinamo Riga needs to return to victory – the playoff line is now nine points above and recovering is going to be harder and harder.
Other than the Dinamo Riga and Neftekhimik showdown, the other central game of the KHL matchday sees Ak Bars hosting SKA. The Army Men aren’t in their best shape of late, yet they just had their biggest win ever against Neftekhimik on Monday (8:2).
Exciting games are also scheduled in Nur-Sultan, with Barys hosting Torpedo, and Magnitogorsk, with Metallurg welcoming a slumping Dinamo Minsk.
Salavat Yulaev hosts Vityaz and Spartak Moscow visits Kunlun Red Star in the two remaining matches of an exciting KHL Thursday.
16:30: Barys (12-15-4) vs Torpedo (15-12-4)
About the game
Barys plays the second of a four-game home series and is on a two-match winning streak.
Torpedo is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Salavat Yulaev on Monday.
Barys’ forward Curtis Valk is on a six-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points over that span.
His teammate Nikita Mikhailis is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Torpedo’s goalie Pyotr Kochetkov is on a 112:45 shutout streak.
Injury list
Torpedo: Theodor Lennstrom, Daniel Zaar.
17:00: Metallurg (25-5-1) vs Dinamo Minsk (15-11-5)
About the game
Metallurg plays its lone home game of the series and defeated Avtomobilist on Sunday.
Dinamo Minsk ends a two-game road trip and lost its previous five matches.
Metallurg’s goalie Vasily Koshechkin is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Injury list
Metallurg: Grigory Dronov, Mikhail Pashnin.
Dinamo Minsk: Mario Kempe, Alexei Kolosov, Ilya Usov.
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (20-10-2) vs Vityaz (7-14-10)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev ends a two-game home series and lost its latest couple of matches.
Vityaz starts a three-game road trip and is on a six-match losing streak.
Salavat Yulaev has already defeated Vityaz this season (4:2) and won its previous four home games against Vityaz, with the most recent defeat dated Nov 23, 2016 (1:2).
Injury list
Vityaz: Yegor Popov, Alexander Yaremchuk.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Alexander Sharychenkov may play his 200th KHL game tonight, while his teammate Shakir Mukhamadullin may reach 100.
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Viktor Antipin may score his 200th career point (currently at 199).
Vityaz’s forward Fyodor Malykhin may score his 100th goal (currently at 99).
19:00: Neftekhimik (14-13-4) vs Dinamo Riga (10-15-5)
About the game
Neftekhimik enters the third home game of its four-match series and lost to SKA on Monday.
Dinamo Riga ends a three-game road trip and is on a three-loss streak.
The Latvian franchise has already defeated Neftekhimik earlier this season (4:3).
Injury list
Dinamo Riga: Nikolajs Jelisejevs, Martins Karsums.
19:30: Ak Bars (20-8-4) vs SKA (18-8-5)
About the game
Ak Bars ends a two-game home series and is on a five-match winning streak.
SKA defeated Neftekhimik on Monday and ends a three-game road trip tonight.
Ak Bars’ forward Jordan Weal is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Ak Bars’ forward Daniil Tarasov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
SKA’s forwards Andrei Kuzmenko and Anton Burdasov are on an identical four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Joonas Kemppainen posted an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Alexander Burmistrov, Nikolai Kovalenko, Par Lindholm, Ilya Safonov.
SKA: Mikko Lehtonen, Vasily Tokranov.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Petrov lines up for his 700th career game tonight.
Ak Bars’ forward Dmitry Kagarlitsky may net his 150th KHL goal (currently at 149).
Ak Bars’ goalie Igor Bobkov may record his 30th career shutout.
SKA’s forward Nikita Gusev may tally his 150th goal tonight (149).
19:30: Kunlun Red Star (8-20-3) vs Spartak (16-14-2)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star starts a four-game home series and lost to Dynamo Moscow on Monday.
Spartak plays its lone road game of the series and lost to Jokerit on Monday.
Spartak has already defeated Kunlun this season (4:2), and its forward Jori Lehtera is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Zach Yuen.
Spartak: Andrei Loktionov.
Suspensions
Spartak’s defenseman Oleg Yevenko serves a one-match ban.
