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SKA and Spartak meet for the third time tonight!
The KHL Matchday starts in Kazakhstan, with Barys hosting Avtomobilist. The Kazakhs have recently slipped off the top-eight in the East and they are now trailing Amur by one point. On their hand, the Motormen lost both games after the pause – they will want to return to victory, but they have four straight road games in front of them.
In the meantime, in Moscow, Dynamo welcomes Traktor. The Blue-and-Whites are on a three-game run and have just defeated their Belarusian counterpart, who will face Severstal tonight on a key game for the postseason qualification. Two points separate the Western sides, with the Steelers also having one game to recover, with the Bisons on a two-match losing streak and key import Cedric Paquette still sitting on the injury list.
In St. Petersburg, SKA will seek revenge after losing a home defeat to CSKA while facing Spartak. The Muscovites managed to climb up to sixth place in the West, but they are currently on a three-match losing streak – the first such streak since Igor Grishin took the helm of the team.
A showdown between Torpedo and Neftekhimik closes an exciting KHL Saturday with five games on tap.
14:00: Barys (18-21-3, 9th E) vs Avtomobilist (28-10-3, 1st E)
About the game
Barys ends a two-game home series and lost to Avangard on Wednesday (1:3).
Avtomobilist starts a four-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
The Motormen defeated Barys three times this season (2:0, 4:3 OT, 2:0), and lost once (0:2).
Barys’ forward Linden Vey had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Injury list
Avtomobilist: Stephane Da Costa, Johan Mattsson.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s goalie Igor Bobkov may reach 30 KHL shutouts.
14:00: Dynamo Moscow (23-12-7, 5th W) vs Traktor (16-21-5, 10th E)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow ends a three-game home series on a three-match winning streak.
Traktor starts a two-game road trip fresh off a win over Sibir on Monday (3:2).
Dynamo Moscow’s goalie Konstantin Volkov is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Traktor’s forward Alexei Byvaltsev is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Eric O’Dell, Bogdan Yakimov.
Milestone alert
Traktor’s goalie Ilya Proskuryakov may line up for his 400th KHL game. His teammate, forward Anton Burdasov, may reach 350 points in the KHL (currently at 348).
17:00: Severstal (15-16-10, 9th W) vs Dinamo Minsk (17-17-8, 8th W)
About the game
Severstal enters the second of a five-game home series fresh off a win over HC Sochi on Wednesday (2:1 OT).
Dinamo Minsk ends a two-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
Severstal defeated Dinamo Minsk twice this season (5:2, 4:3) and lost once (2:3). Its forward Kirill Pilipenko is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Severstal: Andrei Churkin.
Dinamo Minsk: Cedric Paquette.
17:00: Torpedo (25-13-3, 4th W) vs Neftekhimik (17-22-2, 11th E)
About the game
Torpedo, who has already defeated Neftekhimik this season (3:2), ends a three-game home series and won its previous three matches.
Neftekhimik starts a four-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
Torpedo’s goalie Ivan Kulbakov is on a 107:25 shutout streak.
Neftekhimik’s forward Ilya Fedotov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Torpedo: Kenny Agostino, Vasily Atanasov, Kirill Urakov.
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov.
Milestone alert
Neftekhimik’s forward Ansel Galimov lines up for his 500th KHL game tonight.
17:00: SKA (34-6-3, 1st W) vs Spartak (20-16-6, 6th W)
About the game
SKA ends a three-game home series and lost to CSKA on Wednesday (1:2).
Spartak enters the second of a nine-game road trip on a three-match losing streak.
SKA has already defeated Spartak twice this season (5:1, 6:4). Its forward Valentin Zykov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.
Injury list
SKA: Zakhar Bardakov, Stepan Falkovsky, Emil Galimov, Evgeny Ketov, Danil Moiseyev, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi.
Spartak: Kirill Kozhevnikov, Daniil Orlov, Dmitry Vishnevsky.
Milestone alert
SKA’s forward Dmitrij Jaskin may net his 100th tally in the KHL (currently at 99).
SKA’s defenseman Mikhail Pashnin may reach the 100-point mark (currently at 99).
Spartak’s forward Shane Prince lines up for his 200th KHL game.
