Jokerit moves to Minsk for the last matchday before the pause!

In the last KHL matchday before the EHT pause Jokerit faces Dinamo Minsk trying to end the period still on top of the Western Conference’s standings. Dinamo Riga faces Torpedo with 11 games on tap on a busy KHL Sunday.

The KHL is about to have its second Euro Hockey Tour pause of the season, and 22 teams are going to hit the ice in an action-packed Sunday. The KHL matchday starts early with the second Far East derby of the season between Admiral and Amur – but that’s not the only derby scheduled for today as Ak Bars hosts Salavat Yulaev trying to get the third victory over Ufa.

After a bitter loss to Spartak, Jokerit travels to Belarus trying to start a new winning streak and get to the pause with a good mood, but it won’t be easy – Dinamo Minsk is desperate for points as the Belarussian side is trying to qualify to the postseason for the second straight year.

Dinamo Riga hosts Torpedo after a loss to Vityaz – the Latvians had territorial supremacy for most of the game, but the attack failed to deliver as the Vladimir Krikunov’s men are now last in the West standings.

In other high-ranking games, Metallurg hosts Avangard, while SKA welcomes Dynamo Moscow. Another exciting Western Conference match will be the one between Lokomotiv and CSKA, while Barys hosts Neftekhimik in a real battle for a playoff place.

With eleven matches on tap in four countries, there’s a game for everyone on this exciting KHL matchday before the week-long pause for the December stage of the Euro Hockey Tour in Russia.

10:00: Admiral (8-25-5, 12^th E) vs Amur (16-18-5, 9^th E)

About the game
Admiral plays its lone home game of the series and defeated Dynamo Moscow on Wednesday.

Amur ends a five-game road trip and won against Dinamo Riga, also on Wednesday.

Admiral has already defeated Amur this season (2:1).

Injury list

Admiral: Kamil Fazylzyanov, Alexander Shevchenko.

Amur: Roman Bychkov, Michal Jordan, Gleb Koryagin.

13:30: Sibir (20-15-4, 6^th E) vs Kunlun Red Star (9-25-4, 11^th E)

About the game

Sibir plays its second of an eight-game home series and lost to Traktor yesterday.

Kunlun Red Star ends a four-game road trip and lost its previous four matches.

Sibir has already defeated Kunlun three times this season (1:0, 3:1, 7:2).

Injury list

Kunlun Red Star: Jake Chelios, Nikita Khlystov, Zach Yuen.

14:00: Barys (17-17-4, 8^th E) vs Neftekhimik (15-18-5, 10^th E)

About the game

Barys ends a three-game home series and is on a four-match winning streak.

Neftekhimik is at its second of a seven-game road trip and lost its previous six matches.

Barys has already defeated Neftekhimik this season (4:2).

Barys’ forward Jakub Lilja is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (5+1) points over that span.

His teammate, forward Roman Starchenko, is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.

Injury list

Neftekhimik: Alexei Puzanov, Kirill Vorobyov.

15:00: Metallurg (29-8-1, 1^st E) vs Avangard (22-14-2, 5^th E)

About the game

Metallurg is at its fourth of a five-game home series and lost to SKA on Friday.

Avangard ends a three-game road trip and defeated Severstal, also on Friday.

Both games defeated each other once this season (7:4, 2:4).

Avangard’s forward Arseny Gritsyuk is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.

Avangard’s forward Nail Yakupov had three assists in each of his previous three games.

Avangard’s forward Nikita Soshnikov is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 10 (2+8) points.

Injury list

Metallurg: Grigory Dronov, Mikhail Pashnin.

Avangard: Yaroslav Kosov.

Milestone alert

Metallurg’s forward Anatoly Nikontsev may reach 100 KHL assists.

Avangard’s defenseman Maxim Goncharov may play his 500^th KHL game tonight.

17:00: Lokomotiv (20-12-7, 6^th W) vs CSKA (25-11-2, 4^th W)

About the game

Lokomotiv ends a four-game home series and lost to Avtomobilist on Friday.

CSKA starts a three-game road trip and lost to Torpedo on Wednesday.

The Red Army has already defeated Lokomotiv twice this season (3:1, 1:0 OT).

CSKA’s forward Mikhail Grigorenko is on a six-game scoring streak, with 8 (2+6) points over that span.

Injury list

Lokomotiv: Maxim Shalunov.

CSKA: Alexander Popov, Nikita Rtishchev, Anton Slepyshev, Danil Yurtaikin.

Milestone alert

CSKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov lines up for his 400^th KHL game tonight.

17:00: SKA (24-9-5, 2^nd W) vs Dynamo Moscow (25-11-2, 3^rd W)

About the game

SKA starts a three-game home series and won its previous five matches.

Dynamo Moscow plays its lone road game of the series and lost to Admiral on Wednesday.

The Army Men have already defeated Dynamo Moscow twice this season (5:3, 3:2).

Injury list

SKA: Mikko Lehtonen, Vasily Tokranov.

Dynamo Moscow: Mikhail Fisenko.

Milestone alert

Dynamo Moscow’s forward Vadim Shipachyov may reach 800 points at the KHL level (currently at 797) and at the Russian top level (currently at 798).

17:00: Spartak (20-16-3, 7^th W) vs Avtomobilist (17-16-5, 7^th E)

About the game

Spartak ends a two-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.

Avtomobilist ends a two-game road trip and defeated Lokomotiv on Friday.

Avtomobilist has already defeated Spartak this season (3:1), but three of the four most recent games between the two sides ended with a 1:0 score.

Spartak’s goalie Andrei Skovronsky is on a 90:07 shutout streak.

Spartak’s forward Sergei Shirokov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.

Avtomobilist’s goalie Vladimir Galkin is on a 63:57 shutout streak.

Injury list

Spartak: Andrei Loktionov.

Avtomobilist: Alexei Makeyev.

Milestone alert

Spartak’s newly signed forward Timur Khafizov may line up for his 100^th KHL game tonight.

17:00: HC Sochi (15-19-4, 10^th W) vs Severstal (23-10-5, 5^th W)

About the game

HC Sochi plays its lone game of the series and lost its previous couple of matches.

Severstal starts a four-game road trip and is also on a two-match losing streak.

Severstal’s forward Daniil Vovchenko is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.

Injury list

HC Sochi: Yegor Babenko.

Severstal: Jakub Stenqvist.

17:10: Dinamo Minsk (17-14-7, 8^th W) vs Jokerit (24-9-6, 1^st W)

About the game

Dinamo Minsk ends a three-game home series and lost its previous three matches.

Jokerit ends a three-game road trip and lost to Spartak on Friday.

Injury list

Dinamo Minsk: Anton Lindholm, Mattias Tedenby.

Jokerit: Henrik Haapala, Jordan Schroeder.

17:30: Ak Bars (23-10-5, 3^rd E) vs Salavat Yulaev (23-12-3, 4^th E)

About the game

Ak Bars plays the third of a seven-game home series and defeated Neftekhimik on Friday.

Salavat Yulaev starts a three-game road trip and is on a two-match winning streak.

Ak Bars have already defeated Salavat Yulaev twice this season (2:0, 3:2 SO), and won its previous ten home game against Ufa, with the most recent defeat dated Nov 29, 2017 (0:1).

Salavat Yulaev’s goalie Juha Metsola is on a 59:53 shutout streak.

Injury list

Ak Bars: Alexander Burmistrov, Mikhail Glukhov, Nikolai Kovalenko.

Milestone alert

Ak Bars’ forward Dmitry Kagarlitsky may net his 150^th KHL goal (currently at 149).

Ak Bars’ goalie Igor Bobkov may record his 30^th career shutout.

Their teammate, defenseman Kristian Khenkel, lines up for his 300^th career game.

18:00: Dinamo Riga (11-18-8, 12^th W) vs Torpedo (18-15-5, 8^th W)

About the game

Dinamo Riga plays the third of a four-game home series and lost its previous three matches.

Torpedo is at its third of a six-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.

Dinamo Riga has defeated Torpedo twice this season (2:1, 4:3 SO).

Torpedo’s forward Damir Zhafyarov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points over that span.

His teammate, forward Andy Miele, is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.

Injury list

Dinamo Riga: Nerijus Alisauskas, Martins Karsums, Edgars Kulda, Alexander Protapovich, Gunars Skvorcovs.

Torpedo: Sergei Goncharuk, Yegor Martynov, Daniel Zaar.

Milestone alert

Torpedo’s defenseman Yegor Martynov may reach 100 KHL assists.