CSKA and SKA collide again tonight!
Just a couple of days ago CSKA celebrated its 1,000thgame in the KHL (albeit they lost 1:2 to Dynamo Moscow) – tonight it’s the turn of another two Eastern teams: Avangard and Salavat Yulaev.
The Hawks take on first-seeded Avtomobilist for the occasion – celebrating with a win over a top-in-class opponent would be nice for the Mikhail Kravets’ men. On its hand, Salavat Yulaev pay a visit to Chelyabinsk with both sides in excellent shape and looking for a win.
Earlier, in the Eastern Conference, Sibir faces Barys. The Novosibirsk side is having an excellent season so far, but they collected two losses to the Kazakhs earlier this season, with a single win. Another exciting matchup in the East is Ak Bars vs Metallurg, with Zinetula Bilyaletdinov having his first game as the Kazan side’s “new” head coach.
The action then moves to the Western Conference. The game between CSKA and SKA need no presentation – it’s the fourth encounter of the season between the two giants. In the Moscow Region, Kunlun Red Star hosts Lokomotiv. On paper, the Yaroslavl side is the team to beat, but the Dragons defeated them both times this season.
Another “can’t miss” game is the clash between Dinamo Minsk and Torpedo. The Belarusians are on a deep results crisis, with six straight losses, while Torpedo is in excellent shape of late. However, the Minsk side desperately needs points not to loss their spot in the top-eight, and thus they will most likely play at full force against the Igor Larionov’s young guns, who are sensationally fourth in the West.
In the remaining matches, Severstal hosts Spartak and HC Sochi welcomes Neftekhimik. The Black Sea franchise lost its previous fourteen games – the record for the most straight losses belongs to Spartak with 18 in the 2013-2014 season.
15:30: Sibir (26-16-3, 3rdE) vs Barys (19-22-3, 8thE)
About the game
Sibir starts a five-game home series being on a two-match winning streak.
Barys ends a two-game road trip after a loss to Avangard on Monday (2:5).
The Kazakhs defeated Sibir twice this season (2:0, 3:1), and lost once (3:4).
Barys’ forward Linden Vey is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Sibir: Vladislav Litovchenko.
Barys: Nelson Nogier, Yegor Shalapov.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Taylor Beck may reach 250 KHL points (currently at 249).
Sibir’s and Barys’ defensemen Trevor Murphy and Alex Grant may get to 100 (currently both at 99).
16:30: Avangard (25-14-4, 4thE) vs Avtomobilist (28-10-5, 1stE)
About the game
Avangard enters the third of a four-game home series on a four-match winning streak.
Avtomobilist, who has already defeated Avangard this season (4:2), enters the third of a four-game road trip on a four-match losing streak.
Avangard’s forward Alex Broadhurst is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Avangard’s defenseman Semyon Chistyakov is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 8 (1+7) points.
Injury list
Avangard: Stanislav Galimov, Viktor Svedberg, Nail Yakupov.
Avtomobilist: Stephan Da Costa, Johan Mattsson.
Milestone alert
Avangard celebrates its 1,000thKHL game tonight.
Avtomobilist’s goalie Igor Bobkov may record his 30thKHL shutout.
17:00: Traktor (17-21-6, 10thE) vs Salavat Yulaev (23-12-8, 5thE)
About the game
Traktor starts a five-game home series fresh off a win over Metallurg on Monday (5:4 SO).
Salavat Yulaev, who defeated Traktor three times this season (3:2, 3:0, 6:4), starts a two-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
Traktor’s forward Anton Burdasov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 7 (1+6) points over that span.
Traktor’s forward Alexei Byvaltsev is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 9 (4+5) points.
Traktor’s defenseman Rob Hamilton had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling four helpers.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Josh Ho-Sang, Ryan Murphy, Grigory Panin.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev celebrates its 1,000thKHL game.
19:00: Kunlun Red Star (16-25-4, 10thW) vs Lokomotiv (28-10-6, 2ndW)
About the game
Kunlun Red Star, who defeated the Railwaymen twice this season (3:2 SO, 1:0), ends a two-game home series after a loss to Torpedo on Monday (3:7).
Lokomotiv starts a four-game road trip on a four-match winning streak.
Kunlun Red Star’s forward Tomas Jurco is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Paris O’Brien.
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Artur Kayumov, Yegor Korshkov.
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (17-19-8, 8thW) vs Torpedo (27-13-3, 4thW)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost its previous six matches.
Torpedo is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its most recent five matches.
The teams traded wins this season so far (3:2 OT, 2:5).
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Cedric Paquette.
Torpedo: Kenny Agostino, Vasily Atanasov, Kirill Urakov.
Milestone alert
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Ryan Spooner may reach 100 KHL assists (currently at 99).
19:30: Ak Bars (21-15-7, 6thE) vs Metallurg (26-11-6, 2ndE)
About the game
Ak Bars starts a four-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Metallurg starts a three-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
Magnitka defeated Ak Bars twice this season (4:1, 2:1) and lost once (2:3 OT). Its forward Philippe Maillet is on a five-game scoring streak, with 9 (2+7) points over that span.
Injury list
Ak Bars: Mikhail Glukhov.
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov may reach 850 KHL points (currently at 847).
Metallurg’s forward Maxim Karpov may score his 300thpoint (currently at 299).
Metallurg’s goalie Vasily Koshechkin may line up for his 750thKHL game.
19:30: Severstal (16-17-10, 9thW) vs Spartak (20-18-6, 6thW)
About the game
Severstal plays the fourth of a five-game home series and lost to Vityaz on Monday (1:4).
Spartak, who has defeated Severstal twice this season (both times 4:2), enters the fourth of a nine-game road trip on a five-match losing streak.
Severstal’s defenseman Robin Press is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Severstal’s forward Ilya Ivantsov had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling four helpers.
Injury list
Spartak: Kirill Kozhevnikov, Dmitry Vishnevsky.
Milestone alert
Severstal’s defenseman Pavel Denisov lines up for his 100thKHL game.
19:30: HC Sochi (5-29-8, 11thW) vs Neftekhimik (18-22-3, 11thE)
About the game
HC Sochi enters the third of a four-game home series on a fourteen-match losing streak.
Neftekhimik, who defeated HC Sochi twice this season (5:4 OT, 3:2), plays the third of a four-game road trip and defeated Dinamo Minsk on Monday (7:4). Its forward Anthony Camara is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (4+2) points over that span.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Mikhail Berdin, Fyodor Kroshchinsky, Joe Morrow.
19:30: CSKA (26-11-5, 3rdW) vs SKA (35-6-3)
About the game
CSKA enters the second of a five-game home series on a two-match losing streak.
SKA starts a five-game road trip fresh off a win over Spartak on Saturday (4:2).
SKA defeated CSKA twice this season (3:2 OT, 6:2), and lost once (1:2).
Injury list
CSKA: Vitaly Abramov, Darren Dietz, Anton Slepyshev, Danil Yurtaikin.
SKA: Zakhar Bardakov, Stepan Falkovsky, Emil Galimov, Evgeny Ketov, Danila Moiseyev, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi.
Milestone alert
SKA’s defenseman Mikhail Pashnin may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
