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Avangard seeking tenth win in a row facing Spartak!
A nine-win run is certainly something remarkable, but as the saying goes, appetite comes with eating, and the Mikhail Kravets’ men will want to get to a round figure and make it ten. However, things have changed a lot for Spartak as well – they only lost once with Igor Grishin behind the bench.
The KHL matchday starts in Novosibirsk, with Sibir hosting Amur. The Andrei Martemyanov’s men climbed up to third place in the East and they will want to stretch their three-game winning streak. On the other hand, the Tigers slipped down to eleventh position, and they need a win to recover playoffs hopes, with the line being only three points above.
Eighth place today belongs to Ak Bars. The Kazan franchise travels to Kazakhstan tonight, trying to return to victory after two losses. Barys had a rocky start of the season, but the franchise recovered its leader, Nikita Mikhailis, and may be a difficult client to deal with, and they just acquired veteran defenseman Alex Grant off SKA.
Another two exciting games are on tap tonight, when Metallurg hosts Salavat Yulaev and Traktor welcomes Avtomobilist. Magnitka gained a good pace lately, while Ufa is at the other end of the spectrum with five straight losses. Traktor is trying to return back on track – they are the seventh seed in the East now – but Avtomobilist will fight to protect its lead.
15:30: Sibir (20-12-3, 3rd E) vs Amur (12-14-5, 11th E)
About the game
Sibir ends a two-game home series and won its previous three matches.
Amur ends a three-game road trip and lost to Traktor on Monday (2:3 OT).
Sibir won its previous seven home games against the Tigers, all of them with a one-goal difference.
Sibir’s forward Taylor Beck is on a six-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points over that span.
Sibir’s forward Alexander Sharov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (5+2) points.
Amur’s forward Jan Drozg is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.
Injury list
Amur: Andrei Alexeyev, Andrew Calof, Denis Vikharev.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Anton Shenfeld may reach 200 KHL points (currently at 199).
16:30: Avangard (18-11-3, 6th E) vs Spartak (15-14-5, 6th W)
About the game
Avangard, who has already defeated Spartak this season (4:2), ends a three-game home series and is on an incredible nine-win streak.
Spartak starts a three-game road trip fresh off a victory over Lokomotiv on Sunday (2:1).
Injury list
Avangard: Stanislav Galimov, Christian Jaros, Nail Yakupov, Vladimir Zharkov.
Spartak: Alexander Bryntsev, Daniil Orlov, Semyon Ruchkin, Fyodor Svechkov, Dmitry Vishnevsky.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s defenseman Anton Belov lines up for his 700th KHL game, while forward Arseny Gritsyuk – for his 100th.
16:30: Barys (14-17-2, 9th E) vs Ak Bars (13-13-6, 8th E)
About the game
Barys, who has already defeated Ak Bars this season (3:2), enters the third game of a four-match home series fresh off a win over Salavat Yulaev on Monday (4:1).
Ak Bars ends a three-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Dinar Khafizullin, Nikita Yevseyev.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Artyom Galimov lines up for his 200th KHL game.
Ak Bars’ forward Stanislav Galiyev may score his 200th KHL point (currently at 199).
Ak Bars’ forward Alexander Radulov may reach 400 KHL assists (currently at 399).
17:00: Metallurg (20-8-4, 2nd E) vs Salavat Yulaev (17-8-7, 5th E)
About the game
Metallurg, who has already defeated Salavat Yulaev this season (3:2), plays its lone home game of the series and defeated Traktor on Saturday (1:2 OT).
Salavat Yulaev ends a two-game road trip and lost its previous five matches.
Metallurg’s forward Philippe Maillet is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin
Salavat Yulaev: Josh Ho-Sang, Trevor Murphy.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s coach Ilya Vorobyov may record his 300th win in the KHL.
Metallurg’s forward Nikolai Goldobin may score his 100th KHL point (currently at 99).
17:00: Traktor (14-16-4, 7th E) vs Avtomobilist (22-8-2, 1st E)
About the game
Traktor, who has already defeated the Motormen this season (4:3 OT), is in the middle of a five-game home series and defeated Amur on Monday (3:2).
Avtomobilist starts a two-game road trip and is on a six-match winning streak.
Avtomobilist’s forward Brooks Macek is on a nine-game scoring streak, with 14 (12+2) points over that span.
Avtomobilist’s defenseman Nick Ebert is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points.
Injury list
Traktor: Anton Burdasov, Ilya Karphukhin.
Avtomobilist: Patrice Cormier, Alexei Makeyev.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s defenseman Denis Barantsev may reach 500 KHL games tonight.
Avtomobilist’s goalie Igor Bobkov may record his 30th KHL shutout
