Plenty of action on 2022 last matchday!
The action will start early in the Far East, with the sixth edition of the Far East Derby. The Sailors had two straight wins over Amur, and they will seek a third victory. The Tigers have slipped down to last spot in a tight Eastern Conference, but this only means that they will fight even harder tonight.
The action moves then to Novosibirsk, where Avtomobilist will look for its first win after the pause facing Sibir, who also slipped down a bit in the standings. Other two exciting matches are on tap with Avangard hosting Salavat Yulaev, and Traktor facing Metallurg on another Urals derby. In another regional rivalry, Ak Bars welcomes Neftekhimik.
In the West, the main game is a showdown between CSKA and Lokomotiv. The Gagarin Cup reigning champs are having an excellent season, but Lokomotiv is even better for now, as they currently hold the second spot in the West and has defeated the Muscovites twice, with just one CSKA victory in direct clashes. SKA will visit Vityaz, while fourth-placed Torpedo faces Severstal – the Steelers will be on the lookout for another victory as they are back to the right side of the playoffs line.
Dinamo Minsk, however, will try and surpass them back as they host Spartak – both sides are experiencing losing streaks, thus tonight one will finally emerge as a winner. A showdown between HC Sochi an Dynamo Moscow closes an exciting last matchday of 2022.
12:30: Admiral (25-15-5, 4thE) vs Amur (17-20-6, 11thE)
About the game
Admiral enters the second game of a five-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Amur ends a two-game road trip and lost its previous three matches.
The Far East derby series is currently on a 3-2 score in Admiral’s favor (3:1, 3:1, 2:0 – 0:2, 2:3ОТ).
Admiral’s forward Nikolai Chebykin is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 7 (3+4) points over that span.
Injury list
Admiral: Stanislav Gareyev, Rinat Valiyev.
Milestone alert
Admiral’s forward Danil Faizullin may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
15:30: Sibir (26-17-3, 5thE) vs Avtomobilist (28-11-5, 1stE)
About the game
Sibir enters the second of a five-game home series after a loss to Barys on Wednesday (1:2).
Avtomobilist ends a four-game road trip and lost its previous five matches.
Sibir defeated the Motormen twice this season (2:1 SO, 4:0), and lost twice (2:5, 3:5).
Injury list
Sibir: Vladislav Litovchenko.
Avtomobilist: Stephane Da Costa, Johann Mattsson.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Taylor Beck may reach 250 KHL points (currently at 249).
Sibir’s defenseman Ryan Murphy may score his 100thKHL point (currently at 99).
Avtomobilist’s goalie Igor Bobkov may record his 30thcareer shutout.
16:30: Avangard (26-14-4, 3rdE) vs Salavat Yulaev (23-13-8, 6thE)
About the game
Avangard ends a four-game home series on a five-match winning streak.
Salavat Yulaev ends a two-game road trip after a loss to Traktor on Wednesday (2:4).
Avangard had two SO wins over Salavat Yulaev this season (4:3, 2:1), and two regulation losses (0:5, 1:3).
Avangard’s goalie Vasily Demchenko is on a 96:47 shutout streak.
Avangard’s forward Alexander Dergachyov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Sergei Shmelyov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Injury list
Avangard: Stanislav Galimov, Viktor Svedberg, Nail Yakupov.
Salavat Yulaev: Josh Ho-Sang, Trevor Murphy, Grigory Panin.
Milestone alert
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Stepan Sannikov lines up for his 700thKHL game.
17:00: Traktor (18-21-6, 9thE) vs Metallurg (27-11-6, 1stE)
About the game
Traktor enters the second of a five-game home series on a two-match winning streak.
Metallurg is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Ak Bars on Wednesday (4:2).
Magnitka has defeated their regional rivals three times this season (5:2, 4:3, 2:1 OT), and lost once (4:5 SO).
Traktor’s forward Anton Burdasov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (1+7) points over that span.
Traktor’s forward Alexei Byvaltsev is on an eight-game scoring streak, with 10 (5+5) points.
Metallurg’s forward Philippe Maillet is on a six-game scoring streak, with 12 (2+10) points.
Metallurg’s forward Nikolai Goldobin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 7 (5+2) points.
Injury list
Metallurg: Artyom Minulin.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Maxim Karpov may reach 300 KHL points (currently at 299).
19:00: Severstal (17-17-10, 8thW) vs Torpedo (28-13-3, 4thW)
About the game
Severstal ends a four-game home series and defeated Spartak on Wednesday (4:3 OT).
Torpedo, who has defeated the Steelers twice this season (2:1 OT, 3:2 OT), ends a three-game road trip and won its previous six matches.
Injury list
Severstal: Nikolai Timashov.
Torpedo: Kenny Agostino, Vasily Atanasov, Kirill Urakov.
19:00: Vityaz (19-17-8, 7thW) vs SKA (35-7-3, 1stW)
About the game
Vityaz starts a two-game home series fresh off a win over Severstal on Monday (4:1).
SKA, who defeated Vityaz three times this season (4:3, 5:0, 4:1) enters the second of a five-game road trip after a loss to CSKA on Wednesday (1:3).
Injury list
SKA: Zakhar Bardakov, Evgeny Ketov, Danila Moiseyev, Roman Rukavishnikov, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi.
Milestone alert
SKA’s defenseman Mikhail Pashnin may reach 100 KHL points (currently at 99).
19:10: Dinamo Minsk (17-20-8, 9thW) vs Spartak (20-18-7, 6thW)
About the game
Dinamo Minsk ends a three-game home series and lost its previous seven matches.
Spartak is in the middle of a nine-game road trip and is on a six-match losing streak.
Spartak achieved two victories over Dinamo Minsk this season (3:2 OT, 2:1 SO), and lost once (2:3).
Spartak’s forward Danila Kvartalnov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Dinamo Minsk: Sergei Sapego.
Spartak: Kirill Kozhevnikov, Dmitry Vishnevsky.
19:30: Ak Bars (21-16-7, 7thE) vs Neftekhimik (19-22-3, 10thE)
About the game
Ak Bars enters the second of a four-game home series after a defeat to Metallurg on Wednesday (1:3).
Neftekhimik ends a four-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
The two Tatarstan sides traded wins this season so far (5:2, 3:4 OT).
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov had at least an assist in each of his previous three games, totaling five helpers.
Ak Bars’ forwards Alexander Radulov and Dmitry Kagarlitsky are on an identical three-game scoring streak, with 4 (2+2) points over that span.
Neftekhimik’s forward Anthony Camara is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (4+3) points.
Neftekhimik’s forward Evgeny Mityakin had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Neftekhimik’s goalie Andrei Tikhomirov is on a 91:31 shutout streak.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Alexander Panyukov lines up for his 200thKHL game.
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov only lacks one point to reach 850 in his KHL career.
19:30: HC Sochi (5-30-8, 11th W) vs Dynamo Moscow (25-12-7, 5thW)
About the game
HC Sochi ends a four-game home series on a 15-match losing streak.
Dynamo Moscow, who has defeated HC Sochi twice this season (4:2; 2:0), is in the middle of a three-game road trip and won its previous five matches.
Dynamo Moscow’s defenseman Andrei Mironov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points over that span.
Dynamo Moscow’s forward Jakub Lilja is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
HC Sochi: Mikhail Berdin, Joe Morrow.
Dynamo Moscow: Pavel Kudryavtsev, Eric O’Dell.
Milestone alert
HC Sochi’s forward Artyom Nikolayev lines up for his 100thKHL game tonight.
19:30: CSKA (27-11-5, 3rdW) vs Lokomotiv (29-10-6, 2ndW)
About the game
CSKA is in the middle of a five-game home series and defeated CSKA on Wednesday (3:1).
Lokomotiv enters the second of a four-game road trip on a five-match winning streak.
The Railwaymen have defeated CSKA twice this season (3:2 SO, 3:1) and lost once (2:3).
Injury list
CSKA: Vitaly Abramov, Darren Dietz, Vsevolod Skotnikov, Anton Slepyshev, Danil Yurtaikin.
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Artur Kayumov, Yegor Korshkov.
