Nine games on tap for an action-packed KHL Sunday!
The KHL matchday begins in Vladivostok, where Admiral will be hosting Barys. Both teams have recently suffered a couple of losses and will be eager to bounce back with a win. Later, Dynamo Moscow will be facing off against Torpedo in a potentially exciting game as both teams will be looking to secure a victory and improve their standing in the Western Conference.
Eastern intrigues continue with Avangard hosting Conference-leading Avtomobilist and Metallurg welcoming Salavat Yulaev. Avtomobilist is still stuck on a deep eight-game losing streak, while Metallurg has defeated the Ufa team three times this season. However, the point gained by Avtomobilist in Chelyabinsk meant that they kept the Eastern leadership despite their negative period.
Traktor welcomes CSKA and Neftekhimik hosts Vityaz in the Eastern two remaining games of the night.
Then, the playoff battle in the West intensifies with Severstal facing Kunlun Red Star and Spartak paying a visit to Lokomotiv. Both the Railwaymen and the Muscovites lost a few games, and they will also be trying to return to victory.
A showdown between HC Sochi and SKA completes an action-packed KHL matchday.
10:00: Admiral (25-17-5, 6thE) vs Barys (21-23-4, 8thE)
About the game
Admiral will be entering the fourth match of a five-game home series and lost its previous couple of matches.
Barys enters the third game of a four-match road trip coming off a two-game losing streak.
The teams have traded wins this season so far (4:1, 1:3).
Injury list
Admiral: Michal Kristof, Yegor Rykov.
Barys: Nelson Nogier, Yegor Shalapov.
13:00: Dynamo Moscow (27-12-8, 5thW) vs Torpedo (30-14-3, 4thW)
About the game
Dynamo Moscow is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Kunlun Red Star on Friday (3:2 SO).
Torpedo starts a three-game road trip and won its previous couple of matches.
Torpedo’s forward Dennis Yan is on a five-game scoring streak, with 8 (1+7) points over that span.
Torpedo’s forward Vladimir Firstov is on a four-game scoring streak, with 5 (3+2) points.
Torpedo’s forward Nikolai Kovalenko and defenseman Bogdan Konyushkov had an assist in each of his previous three matches.
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Pavel Kudryavtsev, Eric O’Dell, Alexander Skorenov.
Torpedo: Kenny Agostino, Kirill Urakov.
Milestone alert
Torpedo’s forward Andrei Belevich lines up for his 200thKHL game.
14:00: Avangard (28-15-4, 3rdE) vs Avtomobilist (28-12-7, 1stE)
About the game
Avangard starts a four-game home series and lost to Sibir on Thursday (1:3).
Avtomobilist ends a two-match road trip and lost its previous eight games.
The Hawks have defeated Avtomobilist twice (5:0, 7:1), and lost once (2:4).
Injury list
Avangard: Stanislav Galimov, Viktor Svedberg, Nail Yakupov.
Avtomobilist: Stephane Da Costa, Anatoly Golyshev.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Oleg Li may lines up for his 400thKHL game tonight.
14:30: Metallurg (28-13-6, 2ndE) vs Salavat Yulaev (25-13-9, 4thE)
About the game
Metallurg is in the middle of a three-game home series and defeated Lokomotiv on Thursday (3:2).
Salavat Yulaev starts a two-game road trip coming off a two-match winning streak.
Metallurg has collected three wins over Salavat Yulaev this season so far (3:2, 2:1, 3:1).
Metallurg’s forward Philippe Maillet is on a nine-game scoring streak, with 16 (3+13) points over that span.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Alexander Chmelevski is on a three-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points.
Salavat Yulaev’s forward Ivan Drozdov is also on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points.
Injury list
Salavat Yulaev: Josh Ho-Sang, Ryan Murphy, Grigory Panin.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s forward Denis Zernov may reach 100 KHL assists tonight (currently at 99).
Metallurg’s goalie Ed Pasquale may record his 100thKHL win.
14:30: Traktor (20-22-6, 10thE) vs CSKA (30-11-5, 3rdW)
About the game
Traktor ends a five-game home series and defeated Avtomobilist on Thursday (4:3 SO).
CSKA, who has already defeated Traktor this season (5:2), starts a three-game road trip and won its previous four matches.
Traktor’s forward Nikolai Tertyshny is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+1) points over that span.
CSKA’ forward Konstantin Okulov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 7 (5+2) points over that span.
CSKA’s goalie Alexander Sharychenkov is on an 86:12 shutout streak.
Injury list
CSKA: Danil Yurtaikin.
Milestone alert
CSKA’s forward Pavel Karnaukhov may line up for his 300thKHL game.
17:00: Lokomotiv (29-12-7, 2ndW) vs Spartak (21-20-7, 7thW)
About the game
Lokomotiv starts a four-game home series coming off a three-match winning streak.
Spartak will be starting the eighth game of a nine-match road trip after two straight losses.
Lokomotiv has defeated Spartak twice this season so far (3:2, 2:1), and lost once (1:2).
Injury list
Lokomotiv: Yegor Averin, Artur Kayumov, Yegor Korshkov.
Spartak: Yegor Chezganov, Kirill Kozhevnikov, Dmitry Vishnevsky.
Disqualifications
Spartak’s forward Alexander Khokhlachyov serves a one-game ban.
17:00: Neftekhimik (21-23-3, 11thE) vs Vityaz (21-18-8, 6thW)
About the game
Neftekhimik enters the third game of a four-match home series coming off a two-game winning streak.
Vityaz will be starting the second game of a four-match road trip after a loss to Ak Bars on Friday (0:2).
Neftekhimik has already defeated Spartak this season so far (5:4).
Neftekhimik’s forward Ansel Galimov is on a five-game scoring streak, with 5 (2+3) points over that span.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov, Maxim Goncharov.
Milestone alert
Vityaz’s forward Nikita Goncharov lines up for his 100thKHL game tonight.
17:00: Severstal (18-18-11, 9thW) vs Kunlun Red Star (16-27-5, 10thW)
About the game
Severstal, who defeated Kunlun Red Star twice this season (3:2 SO, 5:3), starts a two-game home series coming off a two-match losing streak.
Kunlun Red Star, who has never won a game in Cherepovets, enters the third game of a four-match road trip on a four-game losing streak.
Severstal’s defenseman Robin Press is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (1+2) points over that span.
Severstal’s forward Igor Geraskin is on a three-game scoring streak, with 3 (2+3) points.
Injury list
Kunlun Red Star: Paris O’Brien.
17:00: HC Sochi (5-33-8, 11thW) vs SKA (36-8-4, 1stW)
About the game
HC Sochi starts a four-game scoring streak coming off a long 18-game losing streak.
SKA, who has already defeated HC Sochi twice this season (both times 5:2), ends a five-game road trip and lost to Salavat Yulaev on Friday (1:5).
HC Sochi may tie Spartak’s record for the most consecutive defeats in the KHL history (currently the record is 19). Its goalie Mikhail Berdin is on a 61:39 shutout streak.
Injury list
SKA: Zakhar Bardakov, Evgeny Ketov, Danila Moiseyev, Roman Rukavishnikov, Artyom Shvets-Rogovoi, Vladisav Tsitsyura.
