Fourth Siberian derby tonight!
The KHL matchday starts with two showdowns in the Russian Far East, with Admiral hosting Dinamo Minsk, and Amur welcoming Barys. Both sides are on the lookout for a return to victory, and while they are in different places in the standings, both need points. However, their opponents also do, as Dinamo Minsk slipped down to ninth place in the West, and Barys only having a one-point advantage over Traktor for the eighth spot in the East.
The action then moves to Novosibirsk, where Sibir and Avangard meet for the fourth time this season. So far, the Hawks collected two wins over their regional rivals, with Sibir taking one game, but Avangard is currently on a great momentum, with seven straight wins and looking unstoppable at times.
A clash between CSKA and HC Sochi closes a light KHL Thursday. The Black Sea franchise defeated CSKA only once in 30 attempts.
10:00: Admiral (25-16-5, 6th E) vs Dinamo Minsk (18-20-9, 9th W)
About the game
Admiral, who has already defeated Dinamo Minsk this season (4:3 SO), is in the middle of a five-game home series and lost to Amur on Friday (3:5).
Dinamo Minsk is in the middle of a three-game road trip and defeated Amur on Tuesday (4:1).
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Ryan Spooner is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (1+5) points over that span.
Dinamo Minsk’s defenseman Joseph Duszak is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Dinamo Minsk’s forward Brandon Kozun is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (3+3) points.
Injury list
Admiral: Artem Gareyev, Rinat Valiyev.
Dinamo Minsk: Denis Mosalyov, Sergei Sapego.
10:00: Amur (18-21-6, 10th E) vs Barys (21-22-3, 8th E)
About the game
Amur is in the middle of a three-game home series and lost to Dinamo Minsk on Tuesday.
Barys starts a four-game road trip on a two-match winning streak.
The teams have traded wins this season so far (3:1, 1:5).
Barys’ forward Linden Vey is on a seven-game scoring streak, with 8 (1+7) points.
Injury list
Barys: Nelson Nogier, Yegor Shalapov.
13:30: Sibir (27-17-3, 4th E) vs Avangard (28-14-4, 3rd E)
About the game
Sibir is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Avtomobilist on Friday (1:0 SO).
Avangard ends a two-match road trip and is on a seven-game winning streak.
Sibir defeated the Hawks once (3:2 SO), but lost twice (1:2, 2:3 OT). Its goalie Anton Krasotkin is on a 99:07 shutout streak.
Avangard’s forward Vladimir Tkachyov is on a three-game scoring streak, with 7 (5+2) points over that span.
Injury list
Sibir: Vyacheslav Litovchenko.
Avangard: Stanislav Galimov, Viktor Svedberg, Nail Yakupov.
Milestone alert
Sibir’s forward Taylor Beck may reach 250 KHL points (currently at 249).
Sibir’s defenseman Trevor Murphy may score his 100th KHL point (currently at 99).
17:00: CSKA (29-11-5, 3rd W) vs HC Sochi (5-32-8, 11th W)
About the game
CSKA ends a five-game home series and won its previous three matches.
HC Sochi ends a two-game road trip and is on a seventeen-match losing streak.
CSKA defeated Sochi three times this season (5:2, 6:0, 4:2), and in the 30-match KHL history between the two sides, the Muscovites won 29.
CSKA’s forward Konstantin Okulov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 6 (4+2) points over that span.
His teammate, forward Vladislav Kamenev, is on a three-game scoring streak, with 4 (1+3) points.
HC Sochi’s goalie Mikhail Berdin is on a 61:39 shutout streak.
Injury list
CSKA: Danil Yurtaikin.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Pavel Karnaukhov lines up for his 300th KHL game.
