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SKA seeking seventh straight win at home!
The KHL matchday starts in the East, with Sibir hosting Admiral. The Novosibirsk side is fresh off a shutout win over Sochi, and they will likely want to gather further points – especially since Barys is pushing the gas and hosts Kunlun Red Star tonight in Astana.
Then, another exciting matchup is going to entertain the fans when Avtomobilist welcomes Torpedo. The Nizhny Novgorod franchise has been playing lights out this year, but Avto is no less exciting as they are currently riding high in the Eastern Conference’s standings. In today’s last Eastern game, Neftekhimik hosts Traktor – will the Wolves sensationally make it seven wins in a row?
The action then moves to the Western Conference, where SKA hosts a slumping Dinamo Minsk. SKA had a fantastic start of the season and they aren’t slowing at all, while the Belarusians were far from being impressive in the most recent matches. A revenge match between Spartak and Vityaz closes the KHL matchday – the two teams met last Sunday, and Vityaz prevailed after SO (2:1).
15:30: Sibir (8-7-2, 5th E) vs Admiral (6-8-2, 7th E)
About the game
Sibir ends a four-game home series and defeated HC Sochi on Saturday (3:0).
Admiral starts a three-game road trip and lost to CSKA also on Saturday (1:4).
Sibir’s goalie Anton Krasotkin is on a 69:03 shutout streak.
Injury list
Admiral: Dinar Khamidullin, Mark Verba.
16:30: Barys (8-7-1, 6th E) vs Kunlun Red Star (6-8-3, 10th W)
About the game
Barys starts a five-game home series and defeated Ak Bars on Saturday (3:2).
Kunlun Red Star is at its second of a two-match road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
The Kazakh franchise won its previous seven games against the Dragons.
Kunlun Red Star’s goalie Matt Jurusik is on a 77:29 shutout streak.
Kunlun Red Star’s forward Brandon Yip is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (4+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Barys: Dmitry Gurkov, Michael Chapiut.
Kunlun Red Star: Luke Lockhart, Paris O’Brien, Tyler Wong
17:00: Avtomobilist (11-4-1, 1st E) vs Torpedo (10-4-1, 3rd W)
About the game
Avtomobilist starts a three-game home series and lost to Neftekhimik on Saturday (3:4).
Torpedo, who has already defeated Avto this season (7:3), starts a four-match road trip and is on a two-match winning streak.
Avtomobilist’s forward Brooks Macek is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points.
Torpedo’s forward Nikolai Kovalenko celebrates 200 KHL games tonight and is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Jessie Blacker, Stephane Da Costa, Arsen Khisamutdinov, Alexei Makeyev, Sergei Shirokov, Curtis Valk.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Pavel Kulikov may reach 100 KHL points tonight (currently at 99).
Avto’s goalie Igor Bobkov may record his 30th career shutout.
19:00: Neftekhimik (6-9-1, 9th E) vs Traktor (5-10-2, 11th E)
About the game
Neftekhimik ends a three-game home series and won six games in a row.
Traktor ends a three-match road trip and is on a five-game losing streak.
The two teams faced three times this season already, with two Traktor wins (4:0, 5:3), and one Neftekhimik victory (2:1)
19:30: SKA (15-0-1, 1st W) vs Dinamo Minsk (7-7-2, 8th W)
About the game
SKA ends a two-game home series and won its previous six matches.
Dinamo Minsk enters the second of a four-match road trip and lost its previous couple of games.
SKA has already defeated the Belarusian side this season (5:1), and his forward Marat Khairullin is on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Valentin Zykov had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Dinamo Minsk’s Pavel Varfolomeyev is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.
Injury list
SKA: Nikita Komarov, Mikhail Pashnin, Alexander Samonov, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoy.
Dinamo Minsk: Shawn Lalonde.
Milestone alert
SKA’s defenseman Roman Rukavishnikov may line up for his 500th KHL match.
Dinamo Minsk’s blueliner Dmitry Deryabin may record his 100th KHL appearance.
19:30: Spartak (8-5-4, 6th W) vs Vityaz (9-4-3, 5th W)
About the game
Spartak starts a two-game home series and lost to Vityaz on Sunday (2:1 SO).
Vityaz plays the lone road game of the trip and defeated Spartak on Sunday.
Vityaz has already defated Spartak twice this season (5:1, 2:1 SO).
Spartak’s defenseman Dmitry Vishnevsky had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling four helpers.
Injury list
Spartak: Shane Prince, Semyon Ruchkin.
Vityaz: Alexander Avtsin.
Milestone alert
Vityaz’s defenseman Artyom Borodkin may line up for his 500th KHL game.
Vityaz’s forward Ilya Arkalov may reach 300 KHL games.
