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Eight games in eventful KHL Thursday!
The KHL Thursday starts in Omsk, where Avangard plays out its first game without Dmitry Ryabykin behind the bench – the coach was fired after the team’s harsh loss against Kunlun Red Star. Tonight, Mikhail Kravets will act as the team’s bench boss as the boards take a decision on the team’s future.
In the meantime, in Kazakhstan, also Barys tries to recover after a sound defeat against the Dragons – the Chinese franchise has been on fire lately, but today they are resting. The Kazakhs will face Admiral and both teams will want to get some points for their playoff push. Another two games are scheduled in the East, with Salavat Yulaev hosting Torpedo and Traktor welcoming Sibir.
In the Western Conference, fireworks are to be expected when Lokomotiv hosts SKA, and Sparta welcomes Dinamo Minsk. In the other two matches, Vityaz faces CSKA – with the reigning champions currently on a three-game winning streak – and HC Sochi hosts Neftekhimik. The Black Sea franchise isn’t in its best shape, while Neftekhimik just lost to Traktor after six straight wins.
16:30: Avangard (6-9-1, 9th E) vs Amur (5-8-3, 11th E)
About the game
Avangard, who has won its previous seven games against Amur, is at its third of a four-game home series and lost to Kunlun Red Star on Sunday (0:4).
Amur starts a three-game road trip after a loss to CSKA on Monday (2:3 SO).
Injury list
Avangard: Corban Knight, Nail Yakupov.
Amur: Andrei Alexeyev, Vladislav Barulin, Kirill Slepets.
16:30: Barys (8-8-1, 6th E) vs Admiral (7-8-2, 7th E)
About the game
Barys enters the second of a five-game home series after a tough loss to Kunlun Red Star on Tuesday (0:5).
Admiral is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Sibir also on Tuesday (4:2).
Injury list
Barys: Dmitry Gurkov.
Admiral: Mikhail Belyayev, Svyatoslav Grebenshchikov, Yegor Rykov, Rinat Valiyev.
Milestone alert
Barys’ forward Linden Vey lines up for his 300th KHL game.
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (9-5-2, 3rd E) vs Torpedo (10-5-1, 4th W)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev is at its fourth of a five-game home series and defeated Dynamo Moscow on Saturday (3:2 SO).
Torpedo is at its second of a four-game road trip and lost to Avtomobilist on Tuesday (1:4).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sergei Shmelyov is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 9 (3+6) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Ryan Murphy is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Viktor Antipin, Josh Ho-Sang, Evgeny Timkin.
Torpedo: Vasily Atanasov.
17:00: Traktor (6-10-2, 8th E) vs Sibir (8-8-2, 5th E)
About the game
Traktor starts a three-game home series fresh off a win over Neftekhimik on Tuesday (1:0).
Sibir starts a three-game road trip and lost to Admiral also on Tuesday (2:4).
Traktor has already defeated Sibir this season (3:2 SO) and its goalie Ilya Proskuryakov is on a 98:45 shutout streak.
19:30: Lokomotiv (9-4-3, 5th W) vs SKA (16-0-1, 1st W)
About the game
Lokomotiv starts a two-game home series fresh off a win over Amur on Saturday (3:1).
SKA, who has already defeated Lokomotiv this season (3:2), starts a two-game road trip and is on a seven-match winning streak.
SKA’s forward Valentin Zykov had an assist in each of his previous three games.
SKA’s forward Vasily Glotov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Roman Bychkov, Alexei Marchenko, Daniil Tesanov.
SKA: Nikita Komarov, Mikhail Pashnin, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoy.
19:30: Vityaz (10-4-3, 3rd W) vs CSKA (9-4-3, 7th W)
About the game
Vityaz starts a two-game home series and is on a two-match winning streak.
CSKA, who has already defeated Vityaz this season (4:2), is at its fourth of a five-match road trip and won its previous three games.
Vityaz’s goalie Maxim Dorozhko is on a 117:03 shutout streak.
Injury list
Vityaz: Alexander Avtsin, Tyler Graovac.
19:30: Spartak (8-5-5, 6th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (7-7-3, 8th W)
About the game
Spartak ends a two-game home series and lost its previous couple of matches – both against Vityaz.
Dinamo Minsk is at its third of a four-match road trip and is on a three-game losing streak.
Spartak’s goalie Patrik Rybar is on an 81:42 shutout streak.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Pavel Varfolomeyev is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Spartak: Shane Prince, Semyon Ruchkin.
Dinamo Minsk: Shawn Lalonde.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s defenseman Dmitry Deryabin may line up for his 100th KHL game.
19:30: HC Sochi (3-10-2, 11th W) vs Neftekhimik (6-10-1, 10th E)
About the game
HC Sochi starts a two-match home series and lost its previous couple of games.
Neftekhimik starts a two-match road trip after losing to Traktor on Tuesday (0:1) following a six-game winning streak.
