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SKA moves to Chelyabinsk trying to strengthen its leadership!
The KHL matchday features four Eastern conference matches, starting with Salavat Yulaev hosting Lokomotiv and Traktor welcoming SKA. The two Western giants will have a tough challenge, with the Ufa side wanting to return to victory and Chelyabinsk showing some good hockey of late.
Then, Ak Bars hosts Severstal as the Cherepovets side tries to stay in the top eight – Dinamo Minsk won yesterday, and the Andrei Razin’s men will want to win as well to avoid losing ground against their Belarusian rivals. A showdown between Neftekhimik and Spartak closes a light KHL Wednesday with just four matches scheduled.
14:30: Salavat Yulaev (23-13-9, 5th E) vs Lokomotiv (29-10-7, 2nd W)
About the game
Salavat Yulaev starts a two-game home series and lost its previous couple of matches.
Lokomotiv enters the third of a four-game road trip after a loss to CSKA on Friday (1:2 OT).
Lokomotiv’s rookie forward Stepan Nikulin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (3+1) points over that span.
Lokomotiv’s forward Denis Alexeyev is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Josh Ho-Sang, Ryan Murphy, Grigory Panin.
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Artur Kayumov, Yegor Korshkov.
Milestone alert
Lokomotiv’s captain Sergei Andronov lines up for his 700th KHL game.
14:30: Traktor (19-21-6, 9th E) vs SKA (35-7-4, 1st W)
About the game
Traktor is in the middle of a five-game home series and won its previous three matches.
SKA is in the middle of a five-game road trip and suffered two straight losses.
Traktor lost its previous five home games to SKA, with its latest home win dated Aug 23, 2016 (2:1 OT).
Traktor’s forward Mikhail Goryunov-Rolgizer is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points over that span.
Traktor’s forward Nikita Soshnikov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
SKA’s forward Nikita Gusev had at least a helper in each of his previous three games, totaling four assists.
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).
17:00: Ak Bars (22-16-7, 7th E) vs Severstal (18-17-10, 8th W)
About the game
Ak Bars, who has already defeated Severstal this season (3:2 OT), enters the third of a four-game home series fresh off a win over Neftekhimik on Friday (3:1).
Severstal starts a two-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
Milestone alert
Ak Bars’ forward Vadim Shipachyov may reach 850 KHL points (currently at 849).
Severstal’s defenseman Robin Press lines up for his 100th KHL game.
17:00: Neftekhimik (19-23-3, 11th E) vs Spartak (21-18-7, 7th W)
About the game
Neftekhimik starts a four-game home series after losing to Ak Bars on Friday.
Spartak enters the sixth of a nine-game road trip after defeating Dinamo Minsk on Friday (6:5 SO).
Neftekhimik’s forward Ansel Galimov had an assist in each of his previous three games.
Spartak’s forward Alexander Kvartalnov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (1+4) points.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov.
Spartak: Kirill Kozhevnikov, Dmitry Vishnevsky.
