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99th straight matchday before the pause!
The intense KHL Matchday starts with the third Far East derby of the season – Amur won the first two editions and the Sailors slipped down to fifth place in the Eastern Conference. However, this game will be different – the two sides have already met yesterday and fatigue may play a key role as yesterday the contest went to OT, where a tally by rookie Nikita Grebyonkin gave the Tigers the sixteenth win this season.
In Novosibirsk, Sibir hosts Salavat Yulaev as the Andrei Martemyanov’s men seek revenge after an unexpected home loss to Traktor. The Ufa franchise, on its hand, had a nice win in Omsk most recently, and surpassed Admiral in the standings.
Another exciting encounter is scheduled in Omsk, where the Hawks host Ak Bars. Avangard has already won twice in this Russian classic, and they are on the lookout for a third victory, even more so after losing to Salavat Yulaev on home soil on Tuesday. Moreover, Ak Bars is without Alex Radulov due to an injury.
On the top of the conference, Avtomobilist and Metallurg face Traktor and Neftekhimik, respectively, as the battle for the first seed continues. Magnitka will play on the road, while the Motormen will host a very motivated Traktor, who will want to return into top eight.
In the Western Conference, Lokomotiv hosts Kunlun Red Star. The Dragons are struggling, while the Railwaymen are in good shape – but underrating an opponent is often a good recipe for a failure.
In Belarus, Dinamo Minsk welcomes SKA. The Belarusians couldn’t defeat SKA this season yet, but they will try hard to please the home crowd. In Moscow another Moscow derby is on tap tonight, with Dynamo challenging Spartak. The Red-and-Whites have already defeated Dynamo this season, and with Grishin behind the bench, anything can happen.
A showdown between Vityaz and HC Sochi closes the latest KHL matchday before the December pause.
12:00: Amur (16-15-6, 8thE) vs Admiral (21-13-5, 5thE)
About the game
Amur ends a two-game home series and won its previous three matches.
Admiral enters the second of a six-game road trip on a three-match losing streak.
Amur defeated Admiral twice this season (2:0, 3:2 OT).
Injury list
Admiral: Stanislav Gareyev, Alexander Lazushin, Rinat Valiyev.
Milestone alert
Amur’s goalie Janis Kalnins may celebrate his 100thKHL victory.
15:30: Sibir (24-14-3, 3rdE) vs Salavat Yulaev (20-11-7, 4thE)
Sibir, who has already defeated Salavat Yulaev this season (2:1), ends a three-game home series and lost to Traktor on Tuesday (2:4).
Salavat Yulaev ends a three-game road trip and defeated Avangard, also on Tuesday (3:1).
Sibir’s forward Nikita Setdikov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Sibir’s forward Nikita Shashkov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Injury list
Sibir: Denis Alexandrov, Vladislav Litovchenko.
Salavat Yulaev: Ivan Drozdov, Josh Ho-Sang, Trevor Murphy.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s defenseman Evgeny Alanov and Salavat Yulaev’s forward Danil Alalykin line up for their 100thKHL game.
16:30: Avangard (21-14-3, 5thE) vs Ak Bars (17-14-7, 7thE)
About the game
Avangard, who has defeated once Ak Bars this season (4:3, 2:1 OT), ends a three-game home series and lost to Salavat Yulaev on Tuesday (1:3).
Ak Bars ends a two-game road trip and lost to Barys on Tuesday (2:3 SO).
Avangard’s forward Nikita Tolchinsky is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Avangard’s forward Arseny Gritsyuk is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points.
Avangard’s defenseman Semyon Chistyakov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 10 (2+8) points.
Injury list
Avangard: Emil Galimov, Viktor Svedberg, Nail Yakupov, Vladimir Zharkov.
Ak Bars: Mikhail Glukhov, Dinar Khafizullin, Alexander Radulov.
Milestone alert
Avangard’s forward Corban Knight may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
17:00: Avtomobilist (27-8-3, 1stE) vs Traktor (15-20-5, 9thE)
About the game
Avtomobilist enters the second of a four-game home series on a four-match winning streak.
Traktor ends a four-game road trip and defeated Sibir on Tuesday (4:2).
The teams traded wins this season so far (3:2 OT, 3:4 OT).
Traktor’s forward Alexei Byvaltsev is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Traktor’s newly signed defenseman Rob Hamilton had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Anatoly Golyshev, Alexei Makeyev.
Traktor: Kirill Kapustin.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s goalie Ilya Proskuryakov may reach 400 KHL games.
19:00: Lokomotiv (24-9-6, 3rdW) vs Kunlun Red Star (13-23-4, 10thW)
About the game
Lokomotiv starts a five-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Kunlun Red Star, who has already defeated Lokomotiv this season (3:2 SO), starts a four-game road trip on a four-match losing streak.
Kunlun Red Star’s forward Brandon Yip is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Artur Kayumov.
Kunlun Red Star: Paris O’Brien.
Milestone alert
Kunlun Red Star’s goalie Jeremy Smith may reach 100 KHL games.
19:00: Neftekhimik (16-21-1, 11thE) vs Metallurg (24-10-4, 2ndE)
About the game
Neftekhimik, who has already defeated Metallurg this season (6:5), is in the middle of a five-game home series and defeated HC Sochi on Tuesday (3:2).
Metallurg ends a two-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov.
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Nikolai Goldobin may score his 100thKHL point (currently at 99).
19:00: Vityaz (17-14-8, 8thW) vs HC Sochi (5-26-6, 11thW)
About the game
Vityaz plays the lone home game of the series and defeated Kunlun Red Star on Tuesday (3:1).
HC Sochi enters the second of a four-game road trip and lost its previous nine matches. Its forward Dmitry Zavgorodny is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Mikhail Abramov, Mikhail Berdin, Artyom Fyodorov, Danila Galenyuk, Fyodor Kroshchinsky, Joe Morrow, Nikita Pivtsakin.
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (17-14-8, 7thW) vs SKA (32-5-3, 1stW)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost to Severstal on Tuesday (2:3).
SKA ends a three-game road trip and won its previous five matches.
SKA has already defeated Dinamo Minsk three times this season (5:1, 3:2 OT, 7:2), and its forward Nikita Gusev is on a five-game scoring streak, with 11 (5+6) points.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Brandon Kozun, Cedric Paquette.
SKA: Stepan Falkovsky, Emil Galimov, Evgeny Ketov, Danila Moiseyev, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Marat Khusnutdinov lines up for his 100thKHL games tonight.
SKA’s forward Nikita Gusev may score his 300thKHL assist (currently at 299).
SKA’s forward Dmitrij Jaskin may net his 100thtally (currently at 98).
19:30: Spartak (20-15-5, 6thW) vs Dynamo Moscow (20-12-7, 4thW)
About the game
Spartak, who has already defeated Dynamo this season (3:2 SO), ends a two-game home series and lost to Lokomotiv on Tuesday (2:3).
Dynamo Moscow plays the lone road game of the series and lost its previous couple of matches.
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Yegor Martynov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Ilya Kablukov had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Injury list
Spartak: Denis Bryntsev, Daniil Orlov, Dmitry Vishnevsky.
Dynamo Moscow: Eric O’Dell, Bogdan Yakimov.
Milestone alert
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Andrei Mironov may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
