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Lokomotiv and CSKA battle for West’s second spot!
CSKA had a great showing on Wednesday, when the Muscovites defeated SKA on a tight road game with a late tally by Pavel Karnaukhov. They will be trying to repeat such a sweet performance when they visit Lokomotiv tonight. The Railwaymen have just announced to have prolonged Igor Nikitin’s deal as the team’s head coach for the upcoming two seasons – tonight looks exactly like an excellent occasion to celebrate.
The KHL matchday starts in the Eastern Conference, with Avangard hosting Amur. The Tigers had a spectacular win on Wednesday, with nothing short of a 5:1 thumping of Salavat Yulaev in Ufa. It will be hard to repeat such a success, but when the Tigers are on the hunt, they can be a very dangerous client to deal with and Avangard knows that.
In the meantime, second seed Metallurg hosts third-placed Sibir for another exciting game. The two sides have already met this year, with Magnitka taking the upper hand. Will the outcome be different tonight?
In the remaining Eastern Conference game, Salavat Yulaev hosts Admiral.
The action then moves to the West. The biggest matchup of the night will naturally be the clash between CSKA and Lokomotiv, but emotions will run high in other cities as well, with Vityaz welcoming Ak Bars, and HC Sochi trying to finally get a win hosting Kunlun Red Star
16:30: Avangard (23-14-4, 5th E) vs Amur (17-17-6, 8th E)
About the game
Avangard, who has already defeated Amur this season (4:1), starts a four-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Amur ends a three-game road trip and defeated Salavat Yulaev on Wednesday (5:1).
Avangard won its previous eight home games against Amur, with the most recent defeat dated Oct 14, 2017 (0:1). Its defenseman Semyon Chistyakov is on a six-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that span.
Injury list
Avangard: Stanislav Galimov, Viktor Svedberg, Nail Yakupov.
Amur: Vladislav Gretsky.
17:00: Metallurg (26-11-4, 2nd E) vs Sibir (25-16-3, 3rd E)
About the game
Metallurg, who has already defeated Sibir this season (4:2), enters the third of a four-game home series on a two-game winning streak.
Sibir ends a three-game road trip and defeated Avtomobilist on Wednesday (4:0).
Metallurg’s forward Philippe Maillet is on a three-game scoring streak, with 6 (2+4) points over that span.
Metallurg’s forward Brendan Leipsic is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points.
Sibir’s goalie Denis Kostin is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Sibir’s forward Vladimir Butuzov had at least a tally in each of his four previous games, totaling five goals.
Injury list
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin.
Sibir: Vyacheslav Litovchenko.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Denis Zernov lines up for his 400th KHL game, while goalie Vasily Koshechkin may reach 750.
Metallurg’s forward Maxim Karpov may score his 300th point in the KHL (currently at 299), while Sibir’s defenseman Trevor Murphy may reach 100 (currently at 99).
17:00: Salavat Yulaev (21-12-8, 6th E) vs Admiral (23-14-5, 4th E)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev enters the third straight home game on a four-match series after suffering two straight losses.
Admiral, who defeated Salavat Yulaev twice this season (2:0, 2:1 OT), is at its fifth road game of a six-match trip and lost to Metallurg on Wednesday (2:3).
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Ivan Drozdov and Admiral’s forward Nikolai Chebykin are on an identical four-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Josh Ho-Sang, Ryan Murphy.
Admiral: Artyom Gareyev, Rinat Valiyev.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s forward Danil Faizullin may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
19:30: Lokomotiv (26-10-6, 2nd W) vs CSKA (26-9-5, 3rd W)
About the game
Lokomotiv enters the fourth of a five-game home series and won its previous couple of matches.
CSKA ends a three-game road trip and also won its previous couple of matches.
The teams traded wins this season so far (3:2 SO, 2:3).
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Artur Kayumov.
CSKA: Vitaly Abramov, Darren Dietz, Anton Slepyshev, Danil Yurtaikin.
19:30: Vityaz (18-16-8, 7th W) vs Ak Bars (19-15-7, 7th E)
About the game
Vityaz plays the lone home game of the series and lost its previous couple of matches.
Ak Bars is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost to Lokomotiv on Wednesday (1:2).
Injury list
Ak Bars: Mikhail Glukhov.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Kirill Petrov may reach 350 KHL points (currently at 346).
19:30: HC Sochi (5-28-7, 11th W) vs Kunlun Red Star (15-24-4, 10th W)
About the game
HC Sochi starts a four-game home series and lost its previous 12 matches.
Kunlun Red Star, who has already defeated HC Sochi twice this season (3:1, 5:2), ends a four-game road trip and defeated Neftekhimik on Wednesday (3:2 SO).
Injury list
HC Sochi: Mikhail Berdin, Fyodor Kroshchinsky, Joe Morrow.
Kunlun Red Star: Paris O’Brien.
