Traktor hosting Dynamo Moscow trying to revert the trend!
Tonight, Traktor welcomes Dynamo Moscow in a rematch of the 2013 Gagarin Cup finals. Almost ten years have passed, a lot has happened, it was a memorable series. And it seems that regardless current form of the teams, the Blue-and-Whites and the Black-and-Whites put on a show game after game. The last two matches between the teams both went to extra time and ended with a cascade of goals. The crazy Moscow game from the 2021-2022 season was one to remember (7:6 OT in favor of the Muscovites), but this season, the opponents also delivered with beautiful, productive games that went into overtime. Will the third consecutive overtime be in store for the teams? Why not?
After the emotions in Chelyabinsk, the action moves to Nizhnekamsk. The Wolves will host Avtomobilist trying to protect their eighth place in the Eastern standings, but the Motormen will want to gain some pace before the playoffs.
The action then moves to the West. Severstal returns home to face Metallurg after a coup in Moscow, when they had a sensational 4:1 win over CSKA. Severstal’s distance struggle with Dinamo Minsk is one of the biggest intrigues of this ends of the regular season. However, Metallurg’s head coach Ilya Vorobyov will have another reason to celebrate a win tonight, as it’s his 500th game as a head coach in the league.
A showdown between Spartak and HC Sochi closes a KHL matchday with four games on tap – two for each conference.
17:00: Traktor (23-26-8, 11th E) vs Dynamo Moscow (33-15-9, 5th W)
About the game
Traktor plays the lone home game of the series and lost its previous couple of matches.
Dynamo Moscow, who has already defeated Traktor this season (4:3 OT), ends a four-game road trip fresh off a win over Barys on Sunday (2:1 OT).
Injury list
Dynamo Moscow: Jakub Lilja, Alexei Potapov.
19:30: Neftekhimik (26-26-5, 8th E) vs Avtomobilist (32-16-8, 3rd E)
About the game
Neftekhimik plays the lone home game of the series and lost to Salavat Yulaev on Sunday (3:2 OT).
Avtomobilist ends a two-game road trip after a win over Lokomotiv also on Sunday (1:0).
Neftekhimik has defeated Avtomobilist twice this season (4:3, 2:1), and lost once 3:4).
Avtomobilist’s goalie Vladimir Galkin is on a 60:00 shutout streak.
Injury list
Neftekhimik: Emil Garipov, Bulat Shafigullin.
Avtomobilist: Arsen Khisamutdinov.
Milestone alert
Avtomobilist’s forward Grigory Belousov may reach 250 KHL points (currently at 249).
19:30: Severstal (23-22-12, 9th W) vs Metallurg (30-16-10, 4th E)
About the game
Severstal, who has already defeated Metallurg this season (4:3 OT), starts a six-game home series fresh off a win over CSKA on Sunday (4:1).
Metallurg is in the middle of a three-game road trip and lost its previous couple of matches.
Injury list
Severstal: Yegor Morozov, Alexander Petunin, Daniil Pylenkov.
Milestone alert
Metallurg’s head coach Ilya Vorobyov celebrates 500 games in the KHL.
19:30: Spartak (25-24-8, 8th W) vs HC Sochi (6-40-9, 11th W)
About the game
Spartak, who has already defeated HC Sochi twice this season (1:0, 2:0), starts a two-game home series after losing its previous couple of matches.
HC Sochi starts a four-game road trip on a five-game losing streak.
Injury list
Spartak: Kirill Kozhevnikov, German Rubtsov.
