Jokerit hosts CSKA in Friday’s summit game!
Two Western Conference heavy weights clash on an exciting KHL Thursday when Jokerit welcomes CSKA in Helsinki. Five games are on tap today, including the Siberian Derby between Sibir and Avangard.
On Wednesday, Jokerit lost to Lokomotiv in a tight game, ended in OT. However, the Finnish side will be pumped to face CSKA in this KHL Friday – as forward Teemu Turunen told after the loss in Yaroslavl, the team is ready to go all-in against the Red Army.
The KHL matchday starts with two early games on the Russian Far East, with Amur and Admiral taking on HC Sochi and Avtomobilist, respectively. Both the Far Eastern team won their previous game, and they will try to gain points again.
Then, the second Sibir Derby of the season is on tap – this time in Novosibirsk. The first time, Avangard had a 4:3, close win, but this time the game can go either way.
In the West, Lokomotiv hosts Traktor in an exciting match. Then, Jokerit and CSKA square off in Helsinki.
12:00: Amur (12-16-5, 9th E) vs HC Sochi (12-16-4, 10th W)
About the game
Amur enters the third game of a four-match home series fresh off a win over Avtomobilist on Wednesday.
HC Sochi is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
HC Sochi has already defeated Amur this season (4:0).
Amur’s goalie Evgeny Alikin is on a 61:18 shutout streak.
HC Sochi’s goalie Magnus Hellberg is on a 78:29 shutout streak.
HC Sochi’s forward Vasily Glotov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Amur: Andrei Alexeyev, Gleb Koryagin.
HC Sochi: Yegor Babenko.
12:30: Admiral (7-20-5, 12th E) vs Avtomobilist (13-14-5, 8th E)
About the game
Admiral enters the second game of a four-match home series fresh off a win over Avangard on Wednesday.
Avtomobilist is in the middle of a three-game road trip and is on a two-match losing streak.
Admiral lost its previous for home games against Avtomobilist, with the latest victory dated Dec 6, 2015 (3:2).
Injury list
Admiral: Dinar Khamidullin, Pavel Makarenko, Artyom Manukyan.
Avtomobilist: Stephane Da Costa, Vasily Filyayev, Denis Romantsev.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Andrei Obidin lines up for his 200th KHL game.
15:30: Sibir (15-13-4, 6th E) vs Avangard (19-11-2, 5th E)
About the game
Sibir is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost to HC Sochi on Wednesday.
Avangard ends a three-game road trip and lost to Admiral, also on Wednesday.
Avangard has already defeated Sibir this season (4:3) and his forward Sergei Tolchinsky is on a three-game scoring streak, with four helpers over that span.
Injury list
Avangard: Ville Pokka, Ivan Telegin.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Denis Golubev plays his 400th KHL game tonight.
19:00: Lokomotiv (17-10-5, 6th W) vs Traktor (24-7-3, 2nd E)
About the game
Lokomotiv ends a two-game home series and defeated Jokerit on Wednesday.
Traktor is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Dynamo Moscow, also on Wednesday.
Injury list
Traktor: Tomas Hyka.
20:30: Jokerit (20-7-5, 1st W) vs CSKA (20-10-2, 3rd W)
About the game
Jokerit starts a two-game home series and lost to Lokomotiv on Wednesday.
CSKA is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Severstal, also on Wednesday.
Jokerit’s Brian O’Neill is on a four-game scoring streak, with 8 (3+5) points over that span.
Injury list
Jokerit: Henrik Haapala.
CSKA: Danil Yurtaikin.
