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Emotions guaranteed on an action-packed KHL Saturday!
The KHL matchday starts again in the Far East, with Admiral and Amur facing CSKA and Lokomotiv, respectively. Who could expect that Admiral and CSKA were the same seed by this moment, if thinking about it right before the season? But this is indeed happening, with the Sailors and the Muscovites sharing the seventh place in their respective conference. In the other Far East early game, Amur hosts Lokomotiv, with the Railwaymen’s bench boss Igor Nikiting still seeking his 300th KHL victory.
The action then moves westward, with Sibir hosting HC Sochi. The Novosibirsk side seemed to be losing steam in the latest few games, and a home victory over the Black Sea franchise may be a good way to restart gaining momentum. The same can be said about Avangard – but they will have to face a much serious challenge as Magnitogorsk pay a visit to the brand-new G-Drive Arena today to celebrate its 1000th KHL game.
Another two exciting matchups see Ak Bars hosting Barys and Salavat Yulaev welcoming Dynamo Moscow. The Kazan team’s season maybe isn’t going according to the plan, but they remain the third seed in the East, and they will definitely want to defeat the Kazakhs to further cement their spot in the top four. Salavat Yulaev is a team on the rise, but they are lacking consistency. Will they get some of it defeating the Blue-and-Whites?
And finally, Neftekhimik hosts Avtomobilist. The Motormen are way above in the standings, have already won one head-to-head this season, and the Wolves don’t win at home against them for five years. But all this isn’t going to mean much – Neftekhimik is on sensational five-win run, while Avtomobilist has six players sitting in injury list.
10:00: Admiral (6-7-2, 7th E) vs CSKA (7-4-3, 7th W)
About the game
Admiral ends a three-game home series and defeated Lokomotiv on Thursday (3:2 SO).
CSKA is at its second of a five-match road trip and defeated Sibir also on Thursday (0:3).
Admiral collected its most recent home win over CSKA on Sep 15, 2017 (3:1).
CSKA’s goalie Adam Reideborn is on a 64:40 shutout streak.
CSKA’s forward Sergei Plotnikov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points.
Injury listAdmiral: Dinar Khamidullin, Michal Kristof, Mark Verba.
10:00: Amur (5-7-2, 8th E) vs Lokomotiv (8-4-3, 4th W)
About the game
Amur is right in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated HC Sochi on Thursday (4:3).
Lokomotiv ends a three-game road trip and lost to Admiral on Thursday.
Injury list
Amur: Andrei Alexeyev, Vyacheslav Gretsky, Michal Jordan.
Lokomotiv: Roman Bychkov, Alexei Marchenko, Daniil Tesanov.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s head coach Igor Nikitin may celebrate his 300th KHL victory.
13:30: Sibir (7-7-2, 5th E) vs HC Sochi (3-9-2, 11th W)
About the game
Sibir is at its third of a four-game home series and lost its previous three matches.
HC Sochi ends a four-game road trip and lost to Amur on Thursday.
Sibir has already defeated Sochi this season (2:0).
HC Sochi’s defenseman Nikita Zorkin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
HC Sochi’s forward Nikita Popugayev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
HC Sochi’s forward Nikita Feoktistov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points
Milestone alert
HC Sochi’s defenseman Nikita Pivtsakin lines up for his 600th KHL game.
14:00: Avangard (5-8-1, 9th E) vs Metallurg (10-2-2, 2nd E)
About the game
Avangard starts a four-game home series after losing to Salavat Yulaev on Tuesday (0:5).
Metallurg ends a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
Metallurg’s forward Philippe Maillet is on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (4+3) points over that span.
Metallurg’s defenseman Yegor Yakovlev is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Injury list
Avangard: Corban Knight, Nail Yakupov.
Metallurg: Anatoly Nikontsev.
Milestone alert
Metallurg plays its 1000th KHL game tonight.
Metallurg’s forward Brendan Leipsic is seeking his 100th KHL point (currently at 99).
Metallurg’s goalie Vasily Koshechkin may record his 100th shutout in the KHL.
14:30: Salavat Yulaev (8-5-2, 4th E) vs Dynamo Moscow (11-3-1, 2nd W)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev is in the middle of a five-game home series and lost to Metallurg on Thursday (2:3).
Dynamo Moscow is at its third of a four-match road trip and lost to Neftekhimik also on Thursday (2:3 SO).
Salavat Yulaev’s most recent home win over Dynamo Moscow is dated Dec 04, 2017 (3:2 OT).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sergei Shmelyov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 8 (3+5) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Pavel Koledov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Eric O’Dell is on a four-game scoring streak, with 9 (5+4) points.
His linemate Dmitry Rashevsky is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Viktor Antipin, Josh Ho-Sang, Evgeny Timkin.
Dynamo Moscow: Ivan Igumnov, Bogdan Yakimov.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Vladislav Kartayev may reach 500 KHL games.
17:00: Ak Bars (8-5-2, 3rd E) vs Barys (7-7-1, 6th E)
About the game
Ak Bars ends a four-game home series and lost its previous couple of matches.
Barys ends a two-game road trip and is also on a two-match losing streak.
Ak Bars’ forward Ilya Safonov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Dmitry Voronkov.
Barys: Dmitry Gurkov, Michael Chaput.
17:00: Neftekhimik (5-10-0, 10th E) vs Avtomobilist (11-3-1, 1st E)
About the game
Neftekhimik enters the second of a three-game home series on a five-match winning streak.
Avtomobilist ends a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
The Wolves lost their previous seven home games to Avtomobilist, with the most recent win dated Oct 22, 2017 (2:0).
Avtomobilist has already defeated Neftekhimik this season (4:3).
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Jesse Blacker, Stephane Da Costa, Arsen Khisamutdinov, Alexei Makeyev, Sergei Shirokov, Curtis Valk.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Pavel Kulikov may reach 100 KHL points.
Avtomobilist’s goalie Igor Bobkov may reach 30 shutouts in the KHL.
