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Avtomobilist and Metallurg meet again!
The supremacy of the Eastern conference is once again up for grabs – Metallurg lost to Avtomobilist on Sunday, but things may change tonight with the battle moving to Yekaterinburg. The victory snapped Metallurg’s five-game winning streak, and gave the Motormen a three-point lead at the top of the Eastern standings.
If the Motormen win again, Sibir may climb up to second place, albeit they have three games more than Magnitka, thus Metallurg can still recover. However, Sibir has to defeat Traktor first – Chelyabinsk is on a five-match losing streak, and it will have to end sooner or later.
Another big game is staged in Omsk. Avangard hosts Salavat Yulaev as the Hawks have surpassed Ufa in the standings – only in virtue of the most regulation wins, as they both accrued 45 points in the standings so far. Former Rookie of the year Arseny Gritsyuk is on a hot streak and he can be hard to contain when he’s on the top of his game. In the meantime, in Astana Barys welcomes Ak Bars. Kazan won its first game after Oleg Znarok’s departure, and it will be interesting to see how they will fare in their second game. A showdown between Neftekhimik and HC Sochi closes the games’ list in the East.
The action then moves westwards, starting with Kunlun Red Star hosting Vityaz. The Moscow Region team will battle hard to maintain its spot in the West’s top eight, but the Dragons won’t be an easy client. In Moscow, Dynamo hosts SKA, and Spartak welcomes Lokomotiv for another two exciting games in the Russian capital.
15:30: Sibir (24-13-3, 3rdE) vs Traktor (14-20-5, 10thE)
About the game
Sibir is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous three matches.
Traktor enters the third of a four-game road trip on a five-match losing streak.
Sibir defeated Traktor once this season (2:1 OT), but lost twice (2:3 OT, 2:3).
Sibir’s forward Nikita Shashkov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Sibir: Denis Alexandrov, Vladislav Litovchenko.
Traktor: Kirill Kapustin.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s goalie Ilya Proskuryakov may reach 400 KHL games.
16:30: Avangard (21-13-3, 5thE) vs Salavat Yulaev (19-11-7, 6thE)
About the game
Avangard is in the middle of a three-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.
Salavat Yulaev is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Barys on Sunday (1:2).
The teams traded wins so far this season (4:3 SO, 0:5).
Avangard’s forward Arseny Gritsyuk is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Avangard: Stanislav Galimov, Viktor Svedberg, Nail Yakupov, Vladimir Zharkov.
Salavat Yulaev: Ivan Drozdov, Josh Ho-Sang, Trevor Murphy.
Milestone Alert
Avangard’s forward Corban Knight may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
Salavat Yulaev’s defenseman Pavel Koledov lines up for his 500thKHL game tonight.
16:30: Barys (16-20-3, 8thE) vs Ak Bars (17-14-6, 7thE)
About the game
Barys ends a three-game home series and defeated Salavat Yulaev on Sunday.
Ak Bars starts a two-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
The teams traded wins so far this season (3:1, 1:2), but Barys lost its previous five home games to Ak Bars.
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 9 (2+7) points over that span.
Ak Bars’ forward Dmitry Voronkov is also on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (6+1) points.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Mikhail Glukhov, Dinar Khafizullin.
17:00: Avtomobilist (26-8-3, 1stE) vs Metallurg (24-9-4, 2ndE)
About the game
Avtomobilist starts a four-game home series on a three-game winning streak.
Metallurg starts a two-game road trip after a loss to Avtomobilist on Sunday (1:2).
The Motormen have defeated Magnitka twice (4:3 OT, 2:1), and lost once (0:3).
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Patrice Cormier, Anatoly Golyshev, Alexei Makeyev.
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Danila Yurov lines up for his 100thKHL game.
Metallurg’s forward Maxim Karpov may reach 300 KHL points (currently at 297), while Nikolai Goldobin – 100 (currently at 99).
19:00: Kunlun Red Star (13-22-4, 10thW) vs Vityaz (16-14-8, 8thW)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star ends a five-game home series and lost its previous three games.
Vityaz, who has already defeated the Dragons this season (5:3), plays the lone road match of the series and lost to Spartak on Sunday (1:4).
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Paris O’Brien.
19:00: Neftekhimik (15-21-1, 11thE) vs HC Sochi (5-26-6, 11thW)
About the game
Neftekhimik, who has already defeated HC Sochi this season (5:4 OT), enters the second of a five-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
HC Sochi starts a four-game road trip and lost its previous eight matches.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov, Sergei Kuptsov.
HC Sochi: Mikhail Abramov, Mikhail Berdin, Artyom Fyodorov, Danila Galenyuk, Fyodor Kroshchinsky, Joe Morrow.
Milestone alert
Neftekhimik’s defenseman Ruslan Petrishchev lines up for his 100thKHL game.
19:30: Dynamo Moscow (20-12-6, 5thW) vs SKA (31-5-3, 1stW)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow plays the lone home game of the series and lost to Ak Bars on Sunday (3:2 OT).
SKA is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous four matches.
SKA defeated Dynamo Moscow three times this season so far (4:1, 3:2, 4:3 SO), but lost once (1:2 SO).
SKA’s forward Marat Khairullin had an assist in each of his previous four games.
SKA’s defenseman Alexander Nikishin is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points over that span.
SKA’s forward Nikita Gusev is also on a four-game scoring streak, with 9 (3+6) points.
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Eric O’Dell, Bogdan Yakimov.
SKA: Stepan Falkovsky, Emil Galimov, Evgeny Ketov, Dmitry Moiseyev, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi.
Milestone alert
Dynamo’s forward Pavel Kudryavtsev lines up for his 200thKHL game.
Dynamo’s defenseman Andrei Mironov may record his 100thKHL assist (currently at 99), while SKA’s forward Nikita Gusev can reach 300 (currently at 299).
SKA’s forward Dmitrij Jaskin may tally his 100thKHL goal (currently at 98).
19:30: Spartak (20-14-5, 6thW) vs Lokomotiv (23-9-6, 3rdW)
About the game
Spartak, who has already defeated Lokomotiv this season (2:1), starts a two-game home series on a six-game winning streak.
Lokomotiv ends a three-game road trip and defeated Neftekhimik on Sunday (4:1).
Lokomotiv’s forward Stepan Nikulin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that span.
Injury list
Spartak: Denis Bryntsev, Kirill Kozhevnikov, Daniil Orlov, Dmitry Vishnevsky.
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Daniil But.
