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Metallurg, Avtomobilist meet on top of East
The KHL matchday starts in Novosibirsk, where the hosts Sibir welcome Torpedo. The Novosibirsk side is having a triumphant season so far, as they climbed up to the third place in the East, and is now on a three-win run. Torpedo will try to halt them after losing to Amur on Friday.
The action then moves to Omsk, where Avangard returns home after a win over CSKA on Wednesday. Today’s opponent is Traktor – not the same as facing the Gagarin Cup reigning champions, but no KHL team should be underrated. In the meantime, in Kazakhstan, Barys welcomes Salavat Yulaev. Both teams are going to battle hard, but Barys is seeking a return to the top-eight.
However, the top game in the East will be the clash between Metallurg and Avtomobilist. In the first game of their series this season, Ed Pasquale stopped 37 shots as Magnitka blanked the Motormen with a 3:0 home win. In Yekaterinburg, however, Avtomobilist got the upper hand, with Curtis Valk tallying the OT game-winner with Brendan Leipsic sitting in the penalty box. It will be exciting to see who will prevail tonight – the winner gets the top place in the East.
In Kazan, Ak Bars takes on Dynamo Moscow in its first game without Oleg Znarok. The coach left Kazan after the team’s win over Lokomotiv, and tonight the game will be led by Yury Babenko, who will act as Ak Bars’ head coach until the end of December. Despite their big signing this summer, Ak Bars is just the East’s seventh seed, and the boards were disappointed by the team’s position in the standings. On its turn, Dynamo Moscow is the fifth seed in the West, and has already defeated Ak Bars this season.
Also the Western leaders hit the ice tonight, but not facing each other. SKA is busy in the Moscow Region, visiting Kunlun Red Star, while CSKA moves to Sochi. Earlier, Vityaz plays back-to-back as it faces Spartak after defeating Severstal yesterday – the race for the playoffs is getting more and more intriguing. The KHL matchday closes with Lokomotiv paying a visit to Nizhnekamsk trying to cement their third place in the standings. However, Neftekhimik will want to get off the last place in the Eastern standings.
13:30: Sibir (23-13-3, 3rdE) vs Torpedo (22-13-2, 4thW)
About the game
Sibir starts a three-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Torpedo enters the third of a four-game road trip after a loss to Amur (2:4) on Friday.
Injury list
Sibir: Denis Alexandrov, Vladislav Litovchenko.
Torpedo: Kenny Agostino, Vasily Atanasov, Yu Sato, Kirill Urakov, Daniil Veryayev.
14:00: Avangard (20-13-3, 5thE) vs Traktor (14-19-5, 10thE)
About the game
Avangard starts a three-game home series fresh off a win over CSKA on Wednesday (3:2).
Traktor is at its second of a four-game road trip and lost its previous four matches.
The teams traded wins this season so far (3:1, 0:1).
Avangard’s forward Arseny Gritsyuk is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Avangard: Stanislav Galimov, Viktor Svedberg, Nail Yakupov, Vladimir Zharkov.
Traktor: Kirill Kapustin.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov may reach 250 KHL points (currently at 249).
Avangard’s forwards Sergei Tolchinsky and Corban Knight may reach their 100thKHL assist (Tolchinsky is at 99, and Knight at 98).
Traktor’s goalie Ilya Proskuryakov may become the seventh goalie ever to reach the 400-game mark.
14:00: Barys (15-20-3, 9thE) vs Salavat Yulaev (19-10-7, 5thE)
About the game
Barys is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost to Avtomobilist on Friday (0:2).
Salavat Yulaev starts a three-game road trip fresh off a win over Traktor also on Friday (6:4).
Barys recorded two wins over Salavat Yulaev this season (2:0, 4:1), while Ufa had one victory (5:1).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Daniil Aimurzin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Ivan Drozdov, Josh Ho-Sang, Trevor Murphy.
14:00: Vityaz (16-13-8, 8thW) vs Spartak (19-14-5, 6thW)
About the game
Vityaz ends a two-game home series and defeated Severstal yesterday (3:2).
Spartak plays the lone road game of the series and is on a five-match winning streak.
Vityaz defeated Spartak three times this season (5:1, 2:1 SO, 1:0 OT).
Spartak’s forward Andrei Loktionov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Spartak’s forward Alexander Khokhlachyov
15:00: Metallurg (24-8-4, 2ndE) vs Avtomobilist (25-8-3, 1stE)
About the game
Metallurg ends a two-game home series and won its previous five matches.
Avtomobilist ends a two-game road trip and has achieved two straight wins.
The two Eastern giants traded wins this season so far (3:0, 3:4 OT).
Avtomobilist’s goalie Johann Matsson is on a 107:30 shutout streak.
Injury list
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin.
Avtomobilist: Patrice Cormier, Anatoly Golyshev, Alexei Makeyev.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Nikolai Goldobin may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
Avtomobilist’s forward Pavel Kulikov lines up for his 500thgame in the KHL.
Avtomobilist’s goalie Igor Bobkov may record his 30thKHL shutout.
17:00: Ak Bars (16-14-6, 7thE) vs Dynamo Moscow (20-12-5, 5thW)
About the game
Ak Bars ends a four-game home series and defeated Lokomotiv on Friday (3:2).
Dynamo Moscow, who has already defeated Ak Bars this season (2:0), ends a two-match road trip and is on a two-game winning streak.
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (2+5) points over that span.
Ak Bars’ forward Ilya Safonov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
Ak Bars’ forward Dmitry Voronkov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (5+1) points.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Alexander Skorenov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Mikhail Glukhov, Dinar Khafizullin.
Dynamo Moscow: Eric O’Dell, Bogdan Yakimov.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Semyonov lines up for his 500thKHL game.
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Andrei Mironov may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
17:00: Kunlun Red Star (13-22-3, 10thW) vs SKA (30-5-3, 1stW)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star enters the fourth of a five-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
SKA starts a three-game road trip on a three-match winning streak.
SKA has already defeated the Dragons twice this season (6:3, 3:2).
SKA’s forward Marat Khairullin had an assist in each of his previous three games.
SKA’s defenseman Alexander Nikishin is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Nikita Gusev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 8 (3+5) points.
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Paris O’Brien.
SKA: Stepan Falkovsky, Emil Galimov, Evgeny Ketov, Danila Moiseyev, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Nikita Gusev may become the sixth KHL players with at least 300 career assists (after Vadim Shipachyov, Sergei Mozyakin, Alexander Radulov, Danis Zaripov, and Linus Omark). He’s currently at 298 helpers.
17:00: HC Sochi (5-24-6, 11thW) vs CSKA (23-8-5, 2ndW)
About the game
HC Sochi ends a two-game home series and lost its previous seven matches.
CSKA ends a two-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
HC Sochi has never defeated CSKA at home, and lost twice to the Red-and-Blues this season (2:5, 0:6).
CSKA’s forward Konstantin Okulov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
CSKA’s forward Maxim Mamin is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Mikhail Berdin, Artyom Fyodorov, Danila Galenyuk, Fyodor Kroshchinsky, Joe Morrow.
CSKA: Vitaly Abramov, Darren Dietz, Vladislav Kamenev, Vsevolod Skotnikov, Danil Yurtaikin.
17:30: Neftekhimik (15-20-1, 11thE) vs Lokomotiv (22-9-6, 3rdW)
About the game
Neftekhimik starts a five-game home series and lost to Amur on Wednesday (1:5).
Lokomotiv, who has already defeated Neftekhimik this season (4:3), is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Ak Bars on Friday (2:3).
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov, Maxim Goncharov, Alexander Sudnitsin.
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Daniil But.
